FEATURE FRIDAY: Congleton Film Festival 2013

It's been a long while since we've had a Feature Friday here on Assorted Buffery, but this week sees its return with a look at the Congleton Film Festival which arrives for the second year running on Friday 13th September to the Sunday 15th and bringing with it some of the finest talent from across the North West.

Developed and managed by Congleton resident Sam Astbury, the event is designed to celebrate the town's cinematic past whilst also embracing its future. Film-makers from across the North West and beyond were invited to submit short films to share with audiences which will be screened as part of the weekend-long celebrations.

This celebration of film, particularly on a local level, is the festival's main focus; 'I felt that a film festival was the best way to explore Congleton's cultural heritage because the town has such a strong cinematic past, having had four cinemas over the years,' explains Sam, 'Film is also something that I believe can bring people together in a shared experience and as the town has an active connection to the past, this festival was the perfect way to represent this.'

To open the festival, The Young Pretender plays host to a special screening of 'roses in winter - The Short Film'. The evening will begin at 7pm with an introduction from Inglenook Productions, a Manchester-based film company who produced the short film. The screening of the film will then be followed by a Q&A session with the film-makers.

Taking place at the Electric Picture House, the Saturday will feature a workshop from 1pm until 3pm for children ages 6-11 in which they get the great opportunity of learning how to make their very own zoetrope, a famous animation toy. The Family Film Screening will be a showing of the Oscar-nominated animation, How To Train Your Dragon featuring the vocal talents of Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel and Jonah Hill at 5pm. This will be followed by the Saturday evening event at 8pm, the premiere of Pure Imagination Films' 'White Rabbit', a fascinating take on the story of Alice in Wonderland.

On Sunday, the final day of the festival, the screenings of the short films that have been submitted will take place, showcasing the very best of local and national talent. The event kicks off at 7pm and the full list of films will be available nearer the event. Please click the links to be taken through to the Facebook event pages.

As part of Congleton's cultural scene, the Congleton Film Festival is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all things cinematic, from simple animation through to short films and blockbuster feature films. 

For more information, More information about the festival can be found on both the Congleton Film Festival Facebook page, on the @CongletonFilm Twitter account. or visit the website www.congletonfilmfestival.com. The Saturday workshop has limited places and must be booked in advance; please call 01260 270473 or message Congleton Film Festival on Facebook to book a place. 

- Becky

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: It has been established on many an occasion that Cordelia is a Grade A bitch with a cutting wit, a dash of vanity and just a smidgeon of empathy. But only a bit.

Somewhat ironically given the title, I'd completely forgotten this episode existed and was fully prepared to go into the first season finale this week. But no, here we are with an episode guest-starring the great Clea DuVall who can also be found as a sci-fi nerd in The Faculty (a film which, if you haven't watched, you should go do so right now. Well, when you've finished reading this at least). DuVall plays Marcie, a girl who is so outcast from Sunnydale society that she turns invisible. Naturally, instead of using her newfound powers for good, she goes all vengeful, beating up fellow students and focusing in on Cordelia as the embodiment of her dispossession. 

The fact that I'd forgotten about this episode should not be seen as a sign of its quality, but rather of my terrible memory when it comes to episodes that focus on Cordelia that aren't The Wish. It's actually quite a good exploration of the dangers of isolation at school. The idea of being an outcast is something that recurs again and again throughout Buffy, particularly in relation to everyone's favourite Slayer, but also around the various other members of the Scooby Gang, each isolated in their own way. The prospect of quite literally fading into the background is a nightmare we've all had and some of us have even unfortunately experienced which makes this episode all the more chilling. For Marcie, it's as a result of pretty much her entire year at school ignoring her and forgetting she even exists. It's H.G. Wells via Stephen King with the focus on Cordelia becoming May Queen and giving them all an image to remember.

There's a few cool firsts in this episode which start setting up everything for Season 2 and beyond. First up is the key character development for Cordelia. I commented back in my review of The Puppet Show that it was really great just seeing her be a bitch for a while, but here we start to get more of the character she eventually becomes. Her scene with Buffy in which she confesses how lonely she can be and the very genuine 'thank you' at the end of the episode demonstrates that she's actually not all about the uber-cow we continually see flashes of, but of a person who is just doing her best to fit in. It's a while before she stops caring about that completely, but the beginnings are here.

That being said, she does get some excellent moments in which to be her usual callous self. A personal highlight is her dissection of The Merchant of Venice in which she declares that Shylock's persecution is irrelevant because he's so self-involved and his demand for a pound of Antonio's flesh is just 'icky'. Her reading of the play isn't exactly what you'd call academic, but it plays well into the rest of the episode as Cordelia finds herself as both Shylock and Antonio do, in the shifting roles of persecuted and persecutor. And there's the whole carving flesh issue that Marcie decides to take on.

The other key first is the increasing role Angel plays in the proceedings in this episode; he and Cordelia both form essential parts of the Scoobies in the next season. David Boreanaz even gets bumped up to a regular with his own credits spot. I really love his first scene with Giles as both approach it cautiously (they are the two key men in Buffy's life after all) and are both focused on her safety, something which will become an interesting dynamic in the next episode. The episode also lays out the importance of prophecies in Buffy's world, particularly for her. She fights a lot to get her own agency back from those wanting to take it away from like the Watcher's Council, but this episode starts to hint at the lack of control she has.

Finally, another first revelation here in that the government seems to know all about supernatural goings-on when they show up at the end of the episode to take Marcie away. Governments dealing with things they don't understand and can't control is a Major Theme across Whedon's work, cropping up later in Buffy with the introduction of the Initiative in Season 4 (Firefly and Dollhouse feature this too as well as The Avengers). However, this also marks my major gripe with the first season. In several episodes, we get cliffhanger endings regarding the episode's bad guys which never crop up again. Here, it's Marcie entering a school to be trained in nefarious techniques, but it was also in Teacher's Pet with the eggs under the desk and a couple of others. It just seems a bit lazy to create a bit of intrigue. The X-Files did it too, so there is a precedent. I'm just not a fan and it cheapens the endings of the episodes which are more character-based.

One more thing, has anyone else noticed the distinct lack of vampires this season? I've never noticed just how few appear this time around.

Finale Time: Prophecy Girl

Quote of the Day: Buffy (to Marcie): You know, I really felt sorry for you. You've suffered. But there's one thing I really didn't factor into all this. You're a thundering loony.

Sunnydale Who's Who: It's the first episode in which Mercedes McNab's Harmony is named before going on to become a fan-favourite recurring character - you may also know her from the Addams Family films. She's the girl scout selling cookies in the first, and the pilgrim Wednesday threatens to burn at stake in the second.

- Becky

Becky's look at Nightmares is available here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Nightmares

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Master remains trapped beneath Sunnydale with the Anointed One and Buffy's parents divorced before the move to Sunnydale while her dad remains in Los Angeles. 

Dreams are a big deal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Buffy has prophetic dreams when the plot requires it and whole episodes are dedicated to them, such as this week's Nightmares and Season 4's excellent final episode Restless. Nightmares deals with that awful concept of having your worst fears realised, which, as Giles points out, can be deadly in this particular world, given the monsters that Buffy and the gang have to deal with. 

The students of Sunnydale High start seeing their worst nightmares in daylight as a textbook reveals a load of spiders and then a girl is attacked while on a smoking break in the basement (witnessed the blackly comic Smoking Kills poster as she's beaten). Buffy keeps seeing a young boy around campus when these moments happen, prompting her to find out what has led Billy to astral project from his comatose body.

I'd always remembered this as one of the best episodes of the first season, but I think there may have been a certain rose-tinted nostalgia attached to this particular instalment. It's not a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination and it certainly has an intriguing and scary concept from a Joss Whedon story and a script by stalwart David Greenwalt, it just has a lot going on. Several of the nightmares provide the comedy for the episode, particularly Cordelia's vanity-based horrors or the badass biker who gets visited by his mum in school. Yet for an episode in which the plot deals with child abuse, the veering between levity and drama can sometimes feel a little misjudged.

It sets up some major character points for our Scooby Gang, particularly the fears of the central foursome; Giles unable to read and his fears for Buffy, Willow getting stage fright and Buffy's fear of death and resurrection as a vampire. Again, some foreshadowing going on with Giles revealing that one of his worst fears is Buffy dying on his watch. Of course, he'll have to face this fear head on. Twice. Buffy's scenes are particularly important as so far, she's largely been too quippy and offhand to really understand just how scared she is underneath. Even in Witch when threatened with death, the one-liners kept coming. 

Now however, we start to see more of the vulnerability which makes the character so interesting and will be particularly important when we get to the season finale. The scenes with Buffy's nightmares also form the horrors of the episode, though not in a traditional scary way; she's told by her father that she is the reason behind her parents' divorce. It's a cold, cold scene and the hurt is written all over her face as it slowly dawns on her what her father is saying. Gellar gives a fantastic performance in this scene and it tugs at the tear ducts every time I see it.

The nightmares of the various characters also mean that the plot for this episode is actually quite weak, despite the thru-line of Billy's nightmare coma causing the manifestations. Because we flit from dream to dream, the episode itself can feel quite episodic and fractured, not unironically, like a dream itself. It's an atmosphere that Whedon would go on to capture in Restless but, it doesn't quite work on this occasion.

Despite its faults, Nightmares hints towards the better times to come with its commitment to a bold concept that doesn't just affect the Scooby Gang this time around. It also sets up a fair bit for the last couple of episodes of the season.

Next Time: Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Quote of the Day: Xander: I'm not worried. If there's something bad out there, we'll find, you'll slay, we'll party.

Sunnydale Who's Who: This episode marks the first appearance of Hank Summers, Buffy's dad. He appears every now and again in the next few seasons before disappearing entirely with his new wife.

Let's Get Trivial: Billy will be referenced again in musical episode Once More With Feeling as one of Willow's theories (and one of her only lines): "Or maybe, some kid is dreaming and we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare?"

There is also a forecasting in which Giles declares that if it were happy dreams, it would be a 'comedy musical version'. Holy Whedon.

- Becky

You can read about the previous episode, The Puppet Show, here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Puppet Show

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Principal Flutie was eaten by a pack of students possessed by hyenas. Cordelia's a complete cow. That's pretty much all you need to know for this episode.

Giles finds himself roped into producing the Sunnydale High's Talent Show by the new principal, Snyder (Armin Shimerman) much to the amusement of Buffy, Willow and Xander. Unfortunately, after they watch and mock and laugh at Giles, Snyder forces participation upon them too. Of course, it's not long before dead bodies start showing up with bits missing, namely the heart of the ballet dancer Emily. Buffy immediately assumes supernatural showbusiness is afoot and suspicion quickly falls on Morgan Shay and his ventriloquist's dummy, Sid, who the gang think might be trying to become human again.

After the dire I Robot, You Jane, The Puppet Show is quickly back up there near the top for Season One episodes, featuring a whip-smart script and a genuinely creepy storyline. Of course, it doesn't turn out to be Sid who is the bad guy, but the last of the Brotherhood of Seven, a demon who must assemble human body parts in order to remain in human form. That being said, before Sid's true identity as an entrapped demon hunter, there are plenty of shudder-inducing moments, particularly the scoot across Buffy's floor or well, the fact he is a ventriloquist dummy. As Buffy observes, they give me the wig and the prospect of a dummy coming to life is just "eeeeurgghh". 

Sid is one of the more nuanced secondary characters to appear on the show and is given a fairly tragic past, trapped in that form until he can track down and kill the final demon. Tom Wyner's vocal performance isn't all that nuanced, but he puts across the mournful air of Sid's past well alongside the more comedic moments. One of the quieter scenes in the episode is between Buffy and Sid in which she realises that killing the demon would result in Sid's death. There's a weariness in Sid's plight that, although doesn't mean all that much upon first viewing of this episode, takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the upcoming trials and tribulations for our very own vampire slayer. Death is her gift after all.

The comedy in this episode is so perfectly pitched; written by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali (who are responsible for Never Kill A Boy On A First Date and some truly great second season episodes), The Puppet Show is consistently funny and picking a Quote of the Day was near impossible. In the end, I had to go for one of Snyder's first great lines with a special mention for this one: "I know Principle Flutie would have said kids 'need understanding, kids are human beings'. It's that kind of woolly-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten." Equally, there are plenty of Buffy lines that could have been in there. There's also a couple of brilliant adlibs in there, including Nicholas Brendon improvising Sid saying "Redrum! Redrum!" a la The Shining and Willow's mid-scene dash during the credits scene in which we bear witness to the gang's prepared scene from Oedipus Rex for their talent. 

Perhaps the funniest moments though in the entire episode belong to Cordelia. The episode opens with her singing Whitney Huston's The Greatest Love of All. No, singing is the wrong word. Horrifically massacring would be more appropriate. Then there are two moments in the questioning montage in which the Scoobies try to learn more about Emily's death; Cordelia refers to her as Emma and makes the entire thing about herself naturally. The final moment, and possibly the crowning glory, is when Giles uses a trick of Xander's and gets Cordelia to think there is something wrong with her hair: "Working like a charm." Charisma Carpenter gets one of the meatier arcs across both Buffy and Angel, but it's really great to see her just being a bitch in these episodes. She does it so well.

It's been a long while since I've watched this episode, but it is one of the more enjoyable returns with an ace script and some truly great character moments. There is also a decent amount of foreshadowing with Buffy's clashes with Snyder, as well as on a smaller scale, the gang's fears in preparation for next week's nightmarish episode.

Next Time: Nightmares

Quote of the Day: Snyder: There are things I will not tolerate; students loitering on campus after school, horrible murders with hearts being removed. And also smoking.

Demonology 101: The idea of someone being trapped in a puppet will return in the Angel episode Smile Time. It's awesome.

Let's Get Trivial: Less trivia, more goof but look at the violin player when Giles announces the power circle backstage - playing the instrument with the bow a good three inches from the strings with a rather hilarious facial expression.

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at I Robot, You Jane here.

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FILM REVIEW: The Lone Ranger

Gore Verbinski's latest collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and star Johnny Depp has arrived amidst a whole heap of negative publicity. There's been scathing reviews from across the pond, and a fair few over here, which the trio plus other star Armie Hammer have blamed for The Lone Ranger's lack of success, in turn creating even more discussion about whether they were right to do so. What a lot of these conversations recently have in common is a lot about the box office takings and the reported $190m loss for Disney. But what of the film itself?

Well, it's actually all right.

A young boy visits an old Wild West exhibition in San Francisco in 1933 where he meets an aged Tonto (Depp) who begins to tell him the story of the Lone Ranger. John Reid (Hammer) is journeying back to his home town as a fully qualified lawyer. Unfortunately, he is also sharing the train with the violent outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and a Native American with a bird on his head, Tonto. After Cavendish escapes, John and his brother, Texas Ranger Dan (James Badge Dale) gather up the other rangers and set off in pursuit, but the encounter leaves both brothers dead. Well, mostly dead. John returns to life with Tonto declaring him to be a spirit walker, a man who cannot be killed in battle. Tonto has his own scores to settle and the pair reluctantly combine forces to chase Cavendish down.

A big budget Western is always a risky prospect; it's a genre that has already had its heyday and recent genre mash-ups like Cowboys and Aliens and Jonah Hex have been, frankly, terrible. Then again, the same was once said of the pirate genre and just like he did with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Verbinski has breathed life into the Western, bringing with him a fair slab of subversion in the process. The Lone Ranger is a well-crafted a slick adventure and whilst it doesn't match up to the quality of its swashbuckling predecessor, it certainly makes for quite the spectacle.

What is perhaps the most surprising element is the level of subversion present in this film; The Lone Ranger has been reformed from a symbol of old fashioned American values into someone who actively critiques them. For a summer blockbuster financed by one of the USA's biggest film studios, it spends a lot of its time criticising the nation's past, particularly their many sins in the name of progress. The US Army in particular comes under fire whilst that good old American capitalist greed is the biggest motivator for the villains of the piece. Even the mythology of the Wild West isn't safe, deconstructed in the framing device between the boy and Tonto.

Alongside this, there is also a sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans, long the bad guys of the traditional Western, here presented as a people fighting to keep their traditions and place in the world. The casting of Depp as a Native American is rightly problematic but there does seem to have been a concerted effort to portray the horrors against this culture effectively. The scene in which Reid meets the Comanche and learns of their struggle is one of the quieter moments, but carries an emotional weight that adds another layer to the proceedings. Anyone with the vaguest knowledge of history knows how this turns out so the scenes with the Native American characters pack a decent amount of pathos for what initially comes across as a light-hearted adventure.

The central pairing of Hammer and Depp (which sounds like a badass law firm) generates enough charisma to anchor the film and their relationship evolves nicely over the narrative. Hammer is the straight man to Depp's now familiar gurning and copes with it admirably. His arc is also well-handled as Reid starts off as a bit of buffoon, but rather than this miraculously disappear once he dons the mask, it becomes something he has to deal with and get better at doing so. Tonto is a fascinating character, no longer the sidekick but the equal, a man who is formed from violence and a need for vengeance just as much as John Reid. 

Depp's usual schtick is present but more reigned in than he has been in other films and those fearing another Jack Sparrow need not worry. The tics are there, but not exhaustingly so and his Buster Keaton-esque walk through the big climactic battle is pitched perfectly. In the supporting cast, the excellent Ruth Wilson as the token love interest makes an impact with yet another underwritten female character; Rebecca isn't exactly a wilting damsel in distress and holds her own in the action sequences, but there weren't enough scenes between Wilson and Hammer to develop any sort of chemistry. William Fichtner and Tom Wilkinson as the villains of the piece are both excellent, standing at two ends of the spectrum with the repulsive snarler and the smooth operator respectively. And then there's Helena Bonham Carter with little more than a cameo but milking every moment of that for all it's worth. Plus, she has a prosthetic leg that doubles up as a gun. Of course.

And then there's the action sequences. With plenty of locomotive-based shenanigans to play with, Verbinski pulls off some amazing moments. The first train sequence sets the bar high and there are plenty of traditional Western gunfights and chases throughout to keep genre fans happy. Yet The Lone Ranger's crowning triumph is the climactic battle which really ramps up the action and delivers a thrilling sequence that enthrals from start to finish. Before this moment, Hans Zimmer's score had been largely by numbers but when his reworking of the William Tell Overture kicks in, the film steps up a gear and the results are nothing short of astounding.

It does have its problems however. It's another victim of the curse of the summer blockbuster, clocking in at two and a half hours long, but a stern edit could have cut the majority of the bloat. Expositional scenes abound and once the action set pieces stop and people start talking, the pace can slow to a glacial crawl. The tonal shifts are also a bit of an issue with the plot dealing with some dark subject matter only to have a scene of levity a moment later. Lighter moments to offset darker ones are to be expected in an adventure film, but occasionally, the transition feels rushed and can have a jarring effect. It's a shame really because with the unusually subversive message, the chemistry of its leads and some truly outstanding sequences, The Lone Ranger could have been a great blockbuster.

As it stands, The Lone Ranger is good, not great, but it is a refreshing little oddity of a film that doesn't deserve the vitriolic reception it has received. So don't believe the anti-hype; go and be entertained.

***

- Becky

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TV REVIEW: Southcliffe - Light Falls

After the slow-moving yet intense opening episode, Southcliffe continued with another tension- wrought instalment as we're introduced to the wider community of the small coastal town. Opening with a moment from the shooting itself, a brutal and shocking first scene, the episode once again moves back in time to focus on the events leading up to it. 

The focus of the first episode, the shooter Stephen Morton (Sean Harris), has less screen time here, but it works much more effectively; he becomes an almost spectral presence in his absence and a dark prophetic omen whenever he does appear. It leant a new layer to the proceedings as the aforementioned opening scene sees him get his revenge on Chris (Joe Dempsie), the returning soldier who tormented him, by shooting his young wife in bed next to him. His motivation is established quickly for the rest of the episode; he'll punish those who he felt treated him badly by targeting those people around them.

The resultant sense of dread creeps into every scene and makes seemingly innocuous moments all the more significant. Lines that should be throwaway, like a daughter commenting on her father nicking himself whilst shaving, carry much greater weight, simply through the association of blood. Once again, the sound was also used to startlingly good effect to maintain the discomfort caused by the visual scenes unfolding. Whether it is the oppressive silences that characterised much of the first episode or long, droning sounds that force their way into the scenes, it's consistently intrusive. 

Curiously, the expansion of Southcliffe to include two more families, as well as spending more time with Rory Kinnear's journalist David, doesn't make the show seem any larger. In fact, it is quite the opposite as the inner workings of these close-knit families feel claustrophobic and oppressive. With the episode moving confidently between the time periods, it also has a rather unsettling effect as you try to piece together where in the story you are and which characters are currently the ones in danger. 

The episode also works to establish a stark contrast between the residents of Southcliffe (both present and former) and those coming in from the inside. A particularly harsh moment was the gleeful journalist revelling in Stephen's entrapment whilst shots fire in the distance. It's a fairly damning comment on the way in which these unfolding events are covered by the press as everything becomes sensationalised whilst the residents are left to deal with the after-effects.

Southcliffe is a masterful exercise in control on Durkin's part; every aspect of the episode feels carefully constructed with every scene counting, every sound effect deliberately placed. In a year that has seen some outstanding British drama, Southcliffe is up there with the very best.

- Becky

You can read Becky's review of first episode The Hollow Shore here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - I Robot, You Jane

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy kissed Angel finally who turned out to be a vampire, but the good kind, "like a Care Bear with fangs" (sorry, jumping ahead there - kudos to anyone who knows which episode that quote is from). Willow has a major crush on Xander; Xander hasn't got a clue and is still trailing Buffy. It is a lot about love lives in this season isn't it?

Ah I Robot, You Jane. This episode bears the not-so-honourable title of being one of my least favourite Buffy out of the entire series, a cautionary tale about the dangers of the internet with all the subtlety of a large gold brick. After Giles decides to enter the 20th century and start cataloguing his books digitally, it turns out one of the books held a big old nasty demon in its pages, one who is now running loose on the world wide web. Yes, there's a demon on the internet. And he's set his sights on our Willow whilst picking up a couple of disposable Sunnydale students along the way.

To start on a positive note, it's not all terrible. It's the first episode to really showcase just how good the demon designs and prosthetics were for the show; Moloch's green visage is suitable impressive and it's a shame that we didn't get to see more of that. Though I did notice this time around that he bears a remarkable resemblance to Giles as a Fyarl demon in the fourth season's A New Man. It also marks a key episode in the development of Willow's character in particular as she finally gets a large amount of screentime, facing that teenage dilemma of potential new boyfriend or existing friends. Hannigan's earnestness in her early performances as Willow is so endearing, it's not hard to see why she's a big favourite amongst the fans. Plus, she hits Moloch/Malcolm with a fire extinguisher off her own back and isn't content to just be rescued. Go Willow.

It also marks the first appearance of Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar, techno-pagan and excellent foil to Anthony Head's still quite stuffy Giles. The pair form one of the many 'new versus old' binaries that hit you over the head in this episode in particular, though it's one of the central themes of the show. The introduction of Jenny gives Giles just that little bit more depth, going from being just a tweed-clad librarian with a handy line in exposition to moving towards a three-dimensional human being. Their flirting forms much of the comedy in the episode, particularly the moment with the corkscrew 'earring' (which I literally only just got in this viewing. Oh the naivety of youth).

And then we get to the bad. First up, that afore-mentioned theme of new versus old? You're going to be sick of it by the end of this episode; it doesn't just subtly interplay across the narrative, it tries to beat you over the head with the frankly gigantic computer monitors. It starts with an intriguing opening, all candlelight and chanting. There's a big demon fellow, a willing servant with a promptly snapped neck and some powerful monks who trap said demon in a big book. It's grandiose, but fits in with the general ritualistic style of the first season; bad guys don't just kill people, they recite scripture whilst doing it and good guys don't kill demons, they trap them in books. Said book is then transported to Sunnydale library centuries later and scanned into a computer, thus releasing the demon.

The 'new' in this case is the dread computer and the unspeakable evil that is the internet. The basic premise of a demon running around the internet is a decent metaphor for the dangers of meeting someone online, but it's over-egged to the point of just being ridiculous. Although Buffy and Giles are at pains to point out the dangers of having a demon running around the internet are quite large, there's no sense of peril involved at all because it's not a tangible evil and there's no great effort to make Moloch all that scary. 

The dialogue, for which Buffy is most remembered for, is pretty terrible in this episode and while there are a couple of good back-and-forths, these are largely overshadowed by such clangers as 'there's a demon in the internet'. And then there is the central problem of the plot itself; the trouble with making a film or episode specifically about the dangers of contemporary technology is that tech advances so quickly these days. This episode is so fantastically dated, it's hard to take seriously and I remember struggling with it even nearer the time. 

And Robot Malcolm is just silly.

Next Time: The Puppet Show

Quote of the Day: Xander - "To read makes our speaking English good"

Let's Get Trivial: The monk at the beginning is listed as Thelonious, an ace reference to the jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It's the little things.

- Becky

You can read Becky's piece about previous episode Angel here.

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TV REVIEW: Southcliffe - The Hollow Shore

As an audience, we're spoilt for choice with excellent crime dramas at the moment and Southcliffe, should the series continue in the same vein as the first episode, will be no exception. Directed by Sean Durkin (of Martha Marcy May Marlene - also well worth a look), Southcliffe tells the story of a tragic shooting in a sleepy coastal town through the build-up, the event itself and the subsequent fallout. It's bleak subject matter, but is handled sensitively by Tony Grisoni, the man also behind Channel 4's excellent drama Red Riding. The first episode focuses in the shooter himself, the mentally unstable Stephen (Sean Harris) and the returning soldier Chris (Joe Dempsie).

Opening in suitably shocking fashion with gunshots ripping through the quiet coastal air, Southcliffe then takes a step back to before the shootings take place. From there on in, the pace slows right down in order to continue the creeping sense of dread that permeates those opening scenes. Moody and atmospheric, Durkin allows shots to linger whether they are close-ups of his actors or simply of the gorgeous Kent scenery with its mists and gloom. It's both beautiful and threatening, a location that seems idyllic one minute and terrifyingly remote the next. The opening scenes demonstrate this stark contrast brilliantly; a woman gardening is interrupted by a gunshot that wounds her before a succession of shots of the quiet villages, punctuated by gunfire and the ominous approach of sirens. In these moments, the shooter is unclear, concealed within the mist.

This theme of concealment runs throughout the episode; Durkin isn't afraid to hide action behind door frames, just out of shot and creates the sense that this isn't just a puzzle for the characters, but for the audience, piecing together the events leading up to the shooting. Many things remain hidden in Southcliffe; Stephen and Chris are both reluctant to confess the truth about their respective circumstances to those around him. Whilst Chris manages to keep whatever he is hiding from his girlfriend under wraps, Stephen becomes exposed quickly by Chris and a relative, resulting in a deeply uncomfortable scene that leads directly into the shooting itself.

The sound, or rather the lack of it, is used to particularly great effect. There is no score, only music used for a specific purpose in certain scenes such as the party for the returning soldiers or the outdoor gig later in the episode. Even then, the music feels jarring and intrusive, out of step with the nearly silent world that these characters inhabit. This is demonstrated most in the fast-paced folk music after the ritual humiliation of Stephen in the woods. The silence that punctuates the other scenes proves to be just as unsettling, building into the mounting sense of dread.

Grisoni's script has not attempted justify Stephen's actions, serving more to offer an explanation as to why he attacks the residents of the community. Since The Killing, crime dramas have become less focused on the crime itself and more upon the ripples that run through the community in which it occurs, most recently seen in Broadchurch and Top of the Lake. With Southcliffe, there are an intriguing array of characters we are yet to see. Some are glimpsed in this episode, Shirley Henderson in particular, and we spend a fair amount of time with Rory Kinnear's journalist, who will shortly find himself pulled back to his home town to provide a unique perspective on the coverage.

An impressive opening for Southcliffe; bleak yes, but underscored by an emotional current that, should it continue, will make for a very interesting series indeed. The next episode airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.

- Becky

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