Season Five Discussion

[Trix]

Slayers: Heroes or Villains?

I said before that I thought this was a good idea for an episode. A different twist and a great way to show differing points of view but also to remind us of what has been going on for the past few seasons.

It plays out well as a panel and I like the opposing views. We get different people on the panel with their own area of expertise and I think it plays out quite life-like. We have people arguing and showing their own opinions but they also talk over each other at times. Also some are quite mean about others on the panel, especially Amy who seems to be out of place (in a good way) surrounded by "experts."

A new take to get everyone back into the Slayer mentality and reminding us of not only the key events of seasons past but also those that took place outside of the show, within Faith and Buffy. Also gears us up for a season where it's clear that not everyone is going to be happy with what the Slayers are trying to do.

[mia_kamei]

What is happening with the series? I am currently waiting for Toil & Trouble and I think also The Devil You Know should appear now, but... there is still Head Count as current episode...

[Monster Zero]

Yes, sorry - I've worked three twelve hour days in a row, so understandably I've not been around to update the site! The next three webisodes will be up shortly.

[Alden Caele]

So, gang, any thoughts? Only a couple more One Year Later sodes left, and we're dying to see your impressions so far of the gap year...

[Trix]

I've been enjoying them. It's nice to sit down and read nice, concise stories that cover a range of different subjects. Sure they are all related the the aftermath of last season but you never know if your going to get a story about the PR side or about one of the now defunct slayers.

I liked Erica's story but also Tsula's return home to rid the streets with a few of her friends.

Head Count was also quite a sad read and really put over the aftermath of the virus which was great because instead of seeing the damage we finally got the cold hard facts and what there is to "look forward" to.

I think there could be a bit of fun with the PR stuff especially after reading the latest episode and some of the suggestions to help the Slayer image.

[ChrisH]

When it comes to the PR stuff, I think it's safe to say that we will touch on that in a fairly big way this year. And on behalf of the entire writing staff, it's great to hear that you're enjoying the "One Year Later" webisodes.

The Tsula one was always gonna be nice in my opinion and I think it's appropriate as a send-off to Tsula because we never got a chance to properly in S4, we were moving just too fast to have a "Tsula's Last Day" episode. Not to say we might not see Miss Nimeda again...

Erika's story surprised me because originally, turning her into a SlayVamp wasn't (I believe) what was planned for the wayward Russian. I think (and I may be getting it wrong) that Erika was to fall at Victory's hands and that was it. And yet, it's a brilliant twist and opens up to a lot of interesting material this year which we think you'll enjoy.

"Head Count" was good for re-establishing the dire situation the Slayer Line are actually in. Remember, it wasn't just the Chosen Virus that took out a lot of girls last year, there was the threat of Depowerment which we'll come to address again this year.

[Monster Zero]

Just a heads up - 'What's past Is Prologue' may have to be pushed back a week due to writing difficulties. We'll do our best to get things sorted soon as we can.

[Michael Jay]

^ Do me a favor and change that date on the forum calender (just click the asterisk to edit the event and change the date).

[Monster Zero]

Soon as I get an idea what that date will be, I'll do that!

[october]

Some very short webisode reviews.

(click to show/hide)

Slayers: Heroes or Villains?
Good as a catch-up but otherwise fell kinda short for me... it was a good way to launch us back into the ‘verse, though. I especially liked the way the entire VM Jossverse was tied together, giving that really awesome sense of a bigger picture.

Who Am I?
Not too much information here but a good tease about Victory’s upcoming storyline. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing what comes from this. I did think Sofia was a little cold toward Victory... I woulda thought that her experiences with Buffy might have taught her that the actions of a vampire when they don’t have a soul can’t be strictly applied post-curse. I guess that’s Sofia though, she tends to be the judgemental one of the group.

The War Is Over
A beautiful potential-ending to Tsula’s story. What she went through last season probably wasn’t the best possible approach but she had the right intentions which mad it heartbreaking in a dopey kina way. It was touching to see that she’s now able to save her hometown with the help of her fellow ex-Slayers and nice to see that they haven’t simply given up the fight and gone back to their normal lives.

Otaku
Great to see the negative side of the Slayers outing but painful to see poor Reiko having to put up with it when she’s clearly not okay with it. It samples just a little of the dramatically different lifestyle the Academy will be facing this season – also shows just how damaging the media can when forcing somebody who’s simply not prepared right into the spotlight. I’m sure she’ll pull through though.

Moving House
I’m a massive Frankie fan. Have been since episode one and it’s great to see that she’s earned her spot in the Academy well and truly. Hopefully, we’ll see plenty of Frankie this season and her sass toward her new underlings.

Head Count
A really good little exposition piece that updates us on exactly where the Academy is now which would have seemed out of place a year after the events of season 4 so it was good to get to see it here. Things may look pretty grim but when you consider how the Slayers have existed for generations fighting one at a time with only a Watcher to help... Amelie seems like a really cool addition, even if she’s not a prominent character. Nice to know that there is somewhat that is seemingly genuine helping out the bigwigs of the school without being preoccupied with their own issues.

Toil & Trouble
Didn’t get much from this except that Kira and the Coven do Fuoco obviously have a big role to play this year. I do look forward to getting some meaty stories behind the Coven.

The Devil You Know
It’s sad to see Erika reduced to her current state – heartbroken and single-minded in destroying the Cabal. I’d be a bit wary of Cassandra if I were her, the older Slayer hasn’t got a very good record for loyalty.

Clean Slate
Again, not too much to say about this but was good as catch-up and as a teaser.

First, Do No Harm
As Manu says, this is something that probably should have been thought of by the Academy staff a long time ago. At least to have Watchers medically trained. Oh well, nice to see the Academy is finally organising itself to a suitable standard – they might actually have a fighting chance this year, despite their loss in numbers.

Spin Doctors
Probably my favourite of this years webisodes. I love the idea of the media permeating and interfering on the girls lives to the extent of movies being made based on their lives – ‘cos let’s face it, a show about a Slayer Academy would be a show worth watching, right?

[agent]

I haven't read them all (eek! sorry!) but here's mini-reviews for the ones I have:

(click to show/hide)

Slayers: Heroes or Villains?
Nice re-introduction to the series and where we left off, and it's good to see that the reset button is certainly not being set here on Slayer Academy as it might have been on other series. The girls have been thrust into the media spotlight and, just as if aliens were discovered or the X-Men turned out to be non-fiction, there's going to be great suspicion surrounding them.

The War Is Over
Tsula's swansong, of sorts. Now we don't know whether that's entirely true or not, but it seems like she is reclaiming the hometown that fell apart when she left and now the only way we'll see her is if the new Watcher's Retreat being built there is used in Season Five. That would be quite nice; to see her in a new role, helping to man the Retreat, hopefully with g.b.f. Cody by her side.

Moving House
Always behind Erika, Frankie grew to be my favourite character, and now Erika's gone from the Academy, the French librarian stands as the one I most like to see come 'on-screen'. Her sassiness has not changed from the first time we saw her, only matured, and now there's some real weight behind any bitchy comment she might have previously just thrown around. People respect her and look up to her and it's amazing to see that huge character development. Last year there wasn't enough Frankie in my opinion, and considering she's one of the originals, I'm hoping to see a lot more of her next year.

Head Count
Nice little webisode reminding us the full extent of what was going on last year. We're entering Season Five, the year with the big battle, the year with the whole world involved, with only two hundred Slayers or so and that's a scary statistic considering we know how high the stakes will be at the end of this. And, also, Ragnorak! Will we even have anyone from Slayer Academy in that at this rate?! It's quite a coincidence that our main Slayers: Buffy, Faith, Sofia, Skye, etc. haven't lost their Slayer-ness, but I suppose it's something necessary for us to gloss over. I really like Fitzgerald, she was one of the best parts of last year for me, and I hope she continues to get a decent amount of 'screen-time'. What's happening "Soon" from that e-mail, though? And Amelie, she's interesting. Looking forward to seeing more of her, too.

The Devil You Know
It still depresses me to see Erika in her new state as a Slay-Vamp, simply because she was the only Slayer I consistently loved throughout her entire time at the Academy, and the moment she left was the moment I lost my favourite character. I don't think she has the same endearing quality anymore (obviously! she's a vampire) but I suppose her alliance with Cassandra is an interesting dramatic development and should provide some great dialogue between the two next season.

Spin Doctors
Brilliant to see which of our Slayers has celebrity potential and this all struck me as actually very realistic. So Celeste and Sofia are the main figures that are going to be splashed on the pages of "Heat" and "OK!" it would seem (and also Reiko? her name was mentioned with theirs earlier in the scene, not at the end) and that makes sense because they're both beautiful girls and Sofia's rocking the redemption role. To be honest, pretty much all the girls are stunners (VS casting's very flattering!) and so they could all at least do a spread in "FHM": "Slayers: Naughty or Nice? We say, Naughty!"... I can see it now.

Good work, all. I think "The War Is Over" was my favourite, followed by "Head Count".

[ChrisH]

Some very short webisode reviews.

Slayers: Heroes or Villains?
Good as a catch-up but otherwise fell kinda short for me... it was a good way to launch us back into the ‘verse, though. I especially liked the way the entire VM Jossverse was tied together, giving that really awesome sense of a bigger picture.

Yeah that was the main aim of this one - to try and sort of regain our footing and show that for once it hasn't been swept under the carpet, that the world is watching them. Something we'll touch upon a lot.

Who Am I?
Not too much information here but a good tease about Victory’s upcoming storyline. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing what comes from this. I did think Sofia was a little cold toward Victory... I woulda thought that her experiences with Buffy might have taught her that the actions of a vampire when they don’t have a soul can’t be strictly applied post-curse. I guess that’s Sofia though, she tends to be the judgemental one of the group.

Aaah, Tori... and I can promise you that you'll get (in the first bunch of episodes) a lot of juicy info and action based around this webisode. Sofia does tend to be the judgemental one, doesn't she? Ironic, me thinks - but she was cool with Soledad and I think Skye was even colder...

The War Is Over
A beautiful potential-ending to Tsula’s story. What she went through last season probably wasn’t the best possible approach but she had the right intentions which mad it heartbreaking in a dopey kina way. It was touching to see that she’s now able to save her hometown with the help of her fellow ex-Slayers and nice to see that they haven’t simply given up the fight and gone back to their normal lives.

I will openly and shamelessly admit I think this is one of the best webisodes because we get to say goodbye to a well-loved character, tie her into the bigger picture and get to show that we haven't forgotten the other Slayers. Last year, Tsula was on a downward spiral to fighting and drugs and was only "saved" by escaping Cabal custody and losing her Slayerdom -and I think everyone on staff wanted to give her hope and show life beyond being a Slayer.

Otaku
Great to see the negative side of the Slayers outing but painful to see poor Reiko having to put up with it when she’s clearly not okay with it. It samples just a little of the dramatically different lifestyle the Academy will be facing this season – also shows just how damaging the media can when forcing somebody who’s simply not prepared right into the spotlight. I’m sure she’ll pull through though.

As a Reiko fan, I personally think it's good to bring the angst and give the perky girl something to fight. Remember that Reiko's fighting being the last of the Chosen Line and being shoved into a cruel media spotlight - and Reiko, for all her modern ways, just isn't prepared, even though maybe a little part of her fancied the attention...

Moving House
I’m a massive Frankie fan. Have been since episode one and it’s great to see that she’s earned her spot in the Academy well and truly. Hopefully, we’ll see plenty of Frankie this season and her sass toward her new underlings.

Yeah, everyone seems to have a bit of soft spot for Francoise, considering how much of a bitch she was in S1, it's strange. Frankie's a character who's really adapted from losing her ability to becoming an Academy girl in her own right.

And I can tentatively promise that there will be a lot of Frankie this season - and sass a-plenty.

Head Count
A really good little exposition piece that updates us on exactly where the Academy is now which would have seemed out of place a year after the events of season 4 so it was good to get to see it here. Things may look pretty grim but when you consider how the Slayers have existed for generations fighting one at a time with only a Watcher to help... Amelie seems like a really cool addition, even if she’s not a prominent character. Nice to know that there is somewhat that is seemingly genuine helping out the bigwigs of the school without being preoccupied with their own issues.

Again, another good 'catch up' episode. Gives us solid ground to show just how... screwed the Slayers really are at the moment.

Toil & Trouble
Didn’t get much from this except that Kira and the Coven do Fuoco obviously have a big role to play this year. I do look forward to getting some meaty stories behind the Coven.

We've slowly been building towards the full usage of the Coven di Fuoco through the whole show, from Alita's mother to Delaney/Kira to Mela in the last moments of "King" - if there are two prevalent themes this year, just as last year's was Jendayi/Chosen Virus and Depowerment, this year's are the media and the Coven di Fuoco.

The Devil You Know
It’s sad to see Erika reduced to her current state – heartbroken and single-minded in destroying the Cabal. I’d be a bit wary of Cassandra if I were her, the older Slayer hasn’t got a very good record for loyalty.

It is tragic to see the Nemerov like this but you can definitely understand why. Her sister was brutally murdered by the Cabal and becoming a vamp, however shocking, was the only logical way to go before the Virus knocked her down. And it's certainly not the best thing to do, trusting Cassandra, but the elder Slayer does have reasons of her own...

Clean Slate
Again, not too much to say about this but was good as catch-up and as a teaser.

Yep, very good catch up and showing Mallory back to her former self and definitely in the Academy good books. How long she'll stay her however remains to be seen...

First, Do No Harm
As Manu says, this is something that probably should have been thought of by the Academy staff a long time ago. At least to have Watchers medically trained. Oh well, nice to see the Academy is finally organising itself to a suitable standard – they might actually have a fighting chance this year, despite their loss in numbers.

Out of all the webisodes, this might be my favourite, simply because of its subject matter. The idea of having a medically-trained Slayer/Watcher in the teams makes perfect sense and in fairness, it was only this year that we had a chance to properly implement it - S3 had the cutdown of Slayers from Braeden and S4 had the Chosen Virus taking out Slayers. Additionally we got the lovely Tia as overseer and Sofia making a great transition from killer to saver. That's why I love this 'sode.  

Spin Doctors
Probably my favourite of this years webisodes. I love the idea of the media permeating and interfering on the girls lives to the extent of movies being made based on their lives – ‘cos let’s face it, a show about a Slayer Academy would be a show worth watching, right?

Madison and Edmond will be a present force this year - and the whole concept of "selling" the Slayers' image to the media is one which, if you like that sort of thing, will delight you in the beginning episodes. And don't forget the movies...  


[/quote]

[Monster Zero]

'What's Past Is Prologue' will air tomorrow (Friday 21st), you'll be glad to know. Just making some final edits.

[Trix]

That's the one I've really been looking forward to so I'm happy to hear it's nearly ready

[agent]

The final webisode was brilliant!

(click to show/hide)

Really, really enjoyed "WPPP". Glad I read it too, because it seems like a lot of this is setting up stuff for Season Five and I'm wondering, if people haven't read this, will they be a little confused when the season starts? Or will Huang coming back to England with Kira, Dade etc. be explained again, and what happened with the Coven first time round?

Lady Huang is a brilliant character. Nice to see her joining the series proper, and I'm looking forward to how her and Dade's relationship develops. Interesting to see that she said she and Kira will die and so will the kids! But obviously both mothers don't want that to happen. I can see them both sacrificing themselves in the end, though. Kira has come a long way from her heartless bitch persona of the past and does clearly genuinely care about her children.

Speaking of said heartless bitch persona, it was great to see the switch between Evelyn and Kira actualized 'on screen' and I thought it was very cleverly done. This whole special would have been brilliant if filmed, with the scenes of the girls entering the nightclub contrasting with the mountain scenes in Asia really well.

I wonder when Delaney will get her powers back? I'm betting on just before the big battle.

This is our introduction to the coven as a group who are definitely a major part of Season Five, considering Celeste is gonna be our Big Bad, right? And it's a great introduction. I was glad Kira explained the status of each of the members, too, just to keep me up to date and aware of what's going on. Can't wait to see Celeste, Ana and the other live ones again!

Delaney, Greg and Kira are a great little threesome, by the way. Hope they share more scenes this year because, as a dysfunctional family unit, they work so well. And Huang and Dade are great, too. Part of the reason I enjoyed this webisode so much is that there were no weak characters in it, no-one I wasn't enthralled by 'on screen', and that's good considering most of these are later additions (usually it's the originals like Skye, Frankie and Erika that keep me reading).

Greg's been a bit of a mystery to me since Season One, though, as that's the only year I felt he had a clear role and direction? Since then we've seen him in a lot of different modes and I was wondering in what way he'll function this year? Will he be a romantic foil and be gettin more lovin' (like when he was with Aiden), clearly act in a Watcher role, become the new Wiccan wonder or something else? Also, is he a part of the coven Kira's forming this year?

I'm pretty much just blabbering but, yeah, can't wait for Season Five pretty much.

Keep up the good work!

Oh, I just remembered a question, actually: when they all kept saying "Kagemura", that's Alita's last name, isn't it? So Nina's her mother...?

[Alden Caele]

Yay! Though I didn't end up writing the final script, I laboured for months working out how WPiP would play out, and how to tie up four years of continuity hints and give a really cohesive background story to it all. When I fumbled with the writing, Lee came to the rescue and ended up writing something far better than what I would have scripted, so it was a great team effort.

People who have read the complete series might catch some of the references; every single member of the coven has either appeared or been mentioned in-series before this. All except the dearly-departed Esme, mentioned offhandedly here but who has an important place in the Coven backstory (depending on whether we go deeper into things in S5). It actually gave me so many thrills to read over Lee's draft and think, "I wonder if anyone remembers that from S1!" or "Haha, people who read the S4 webisodes will be quite intrigued here." All making me quite happy with how it all ties together.

Lady Huang is a brilliant character. Nice to see her joining the series proper, and I'm looking forward to how her and Dade's relationship develops.

Glad to hear it! For those interested, the initial nugget of Lady Huang was actually proposed waaaay back in late S2. She was massively different, of course, a harsh take-no-crap trainer plucked from an old pitch of Brian Lamkin and mine. Then, we started developing and seeding the character into S4 and discovering she was a great addition to things. Very glad she came off well here.

Delaney, Greg and Kira are a great little threesome, by the way. Hope they share more scenes this year because, as a dysfunctional family unit, they work so well. [...]Greg's been a bit of a mystery to me since Season One, though, as that's the only year I felt he had a clear role and direction? Since then we've seen him in a lot of different modes and I was wondering in what way he'll function this year? Will he be a romantic foil and be gettin more lovin' (like when he was with Aiden), clearly act in a Watcher role, become the new Wiccan wonder or something else? Also, is he a part of the coven Kira's forming this year?

Trust me, you'll be seeing quite a bit of these three. I'm iffy on Greg, but I enjoy him trying to fit into this odd family he's found. He'll be doing double-duty, as both A Squad watcher and getting embroiled in Kira's schemes.

Oh, I just remembered a question, actually: when they all kept saying "Kagemura", that's Alita's last name, isn't it? So Nina's her mother...?

Very, very glad ye enjoyed it, Will. It was a nice chance to tie up a lot of things we'd been only hinting at good and proper, and propel us into S5.

But I have to ask, because the fun's really about to start and, hey, you guys know me... What do you guys think will come in S5? You know we've got a whole stable of Bads with a history together, we've got the media screwing with our girls' lives, and there's that looming series finale. I'm curious: What do you want to happen? What are you afraid will happen? Whose gruesome death are you cheering for? How do you think the hints you've noticed will pay off? And more importantly... what does the series mean to you, and how do you think it would best bring itself to a close?

[Monster Zero]

Please note revised Season Five airdates - we've pushed the start back three weeks to Tuesday September 29th as we're behind schedule on getting the new episodes completed.

[Lukey]

In a way I'm kind of happy as I will have finished season 4, the season 4 webisodes and the One Year Later webisodes by then so yay!

[whedonversefan]

(click to show/hide)

Spoiler Space for Discussion of Joss Whedon-related stuff and everything
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Wow,do I have catching up to do....
Anyway,very nice way to ease us back into SA and tie all four major Virtual Mutant shows together  (I do,however, have to say that I hope Kennedy makes it back to Earth and a happy ending someday. At the very least, Dawn deserves to know that Kennedy's alive...)
I love the idea that Frankie is the one who has to put the Council back together. Who in the world would have thought that the brat of Season 1 would wind up being the most responsible person of all? Or that we would actually think it would be a good idea for her to be in harge of everything?
Have to say that it wasn't too smart of the Academy to let people know that Reiko is the last of the line-could they have painted a bigger target on her forehead?
Question-since Faith is very much a public figure,why wasn't her name brought up during the discussion about the mental stability of Slayers? Granted,she's a hero now but the heroic behavior of other Slayers doesn't seem to matter to the suspicious types...
I am amused to see that there are still the "we must understand the marauding monster" types out there-I'm guessing that if he doesn't already work for the initative that he'd certainly like to...

Best wishes,

Scott

[Monster Zero]

The focus of the world's media on the Slayers is what we'll be squaring our sights on for the first third of the season, so Faith and other MZP Jossverse events (such as Original Syn and Broken Wings) will all be referenced during then.

Plotting still goes on behind the scenes - we've shuffled round our middle third quit a lot but I think we've turned a corner with some arcs that weren't flowing quite right - the run of episodes from 5x09 onwards is going to be something really special, and let's not forget 5x12 will be our 100th episode so we have lots planned for that too!