Buffy Episode 3.4: Beauty and the Beasts

Welcome to our discussion of Buffy Season 3 Episode 4: Beauty and the Beasts; wherein all men are beasts, Buffy.

Our drinks this time are the Toxic Heteronormatini and the Irish Tourist—for recipes make sure to check out our Buffytails page at www.worldwithoutshrimp.com. 

Now on to the show: after Snard reinforces her theory of episode 3 being from Angel’s point of view, we begin our long-running discussion of episode order and how they match a similar pattern on Buffy’s journey through each season. This episode is working under almost pure metaphor for all of our poor scoobies, and we realize early on that it might just be the queerest episode of Buffy—and possibly television—ever. Faith has shown up and presented herself as a possible love interest for Buffy, and so our cast and parts of Buffy suddenly halt and catch fire in their attempt at reinforcing heteronormativity. 

Please make sure to take advantage of the amazing deal on Plottr our friend Cameron Sutter is offering for National Novel writing month and help support our podcast at the same time. Also, if you want to read more about writing and track Snard's National Novel Writing Month, make sure to visit www.michelletuckett.com. 

Thank you as always, for listening, sharing, commenting, and generally being the best Gentle Listeners in all the land. Stay tuned next time for Season 3 Episode 5: Homecoming.

Buffy Episode 2.21: Becoming Part 1

In our show we discuss Buffy Season 2 Episode 21: Becoming Part 1; Wherein Angelus demonstrates once again that he is really smart, but also really fucking stupid; Kendra, Slayer of the Vampyres, breaks the first rule of slaying; and, offscreen in Boston, the next slayer is called.

This episode is the first half on one of the most impactful season ends in the history of television. There is an incredible scope of storytelling and foreshadowing going on, all while masterfully expanding our understanding of Angel as a character as well as seeing the origin story of our vampire cast, our knowledge of the Buffyverse, and our big feels that lead up to the heartbreak at the end of the season. We also see very interesting work at expanding our conversation about what happens when you become a vampire and how who you were before and how you are turned dictate much of what type of demon you will become. 

We talk about a lot and cover a ton of very interesting ideas. Among them, the possible origins of Acathla, our glimpse into Scoopy normality, the brilliant conflicts between the characters as both metaphor and people, and work at moving forward with queer metaphors. 

Thank you so much for listening! Please make sure to like us on Facebook, visit our website, comment wherever you see fit to keep the conversation going, and as always we are happy to hear from you if you email us any time at info@diogenesclubpodcast.com. 

We’ll see you next time for Becoming Part 2

And in case you wanted to get more information on queerness and production coding, allow us to present The Celluloid Closet: 

Buffy Episode 2.14: Innocence

Happy Birthday, Buffy! No seriously, though. The 10th is Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s 20th anniversary. And we feel old.

Welcome to the second part of the epic duo episodes that chronicle Angel going all Angelus and we are both misty eyed and amused at once. Today, we discuss Buffy Season 2 Episode 14 Innocence: Wherein all ye know and all ye need to know is ROCKET LAUNCHER. 

We talk about… well, a lot of stuff. Seriously, like, a lot. Just listen. But among all of it, we discuss Michelle’s (Snard’s) theory and in-depth research about the coded language of leather and velvet in the power dynamic of Angel and Buffy. There will be a post on Michelle’s Blog about it, so if you don’t follow everything, we have you covered. Also, we talk about Angel’s history, add some cargo onto Michelle’s ship of Angel and Spike. 

Did we mention rocket launcher?

Make sure to stay tuned for Michelle’s blog, and make sure to read Jen’s blog as well, and let us know what you like or would enjoy reading. Also, we’re still collecting iTunes reviews for our incentive goal. 

And as always, help us boost our signal by visiting our website, liking us on Facebook, sharing us with your Buffy-loving friends, and keeping in touch by emailing us at info@diogenesclubpodcast.com.

Buffy Episode 2.7: Lie to Me (Ripper Arc 2 of 3)

In this, our second episode of the Ripper Arc, we discuss Buffy Season 2 Episode 7 Lie to Me: Wherein Giles weaves a breathtaking, heartbreaking lie. And everyone lies to everyone else. 

This episode is rife with symbolism and metaphor from beginning to end, taking us much deeper into the lies told by everyone — Giles, in particular. We also continue the returning of Angel’s past, and have many of his old issues come to the foreground as he struggles internal with past deeds - much as Giles is in our three episodes. We also have some hard truths coming Buffy’s way, and one of the saddest monologues in the whole of Buffy. 

We are so grateful to you, our Gentle Listeners. Please keep liking, sharing, and reviewing us anywhere you see fit and as always, we would love to hear from you — you can always reach us by commenting anywhere online or email us at info@diogenesclubpodcast.com.

And because we wax poetic about this episode's discussion by Passion of the Nerd: