Kevin's Watch

Giles: ...The earth is definitely doomed!...
a bit later
Buffy: ...What if you could have that power now? In every generation one Slayer is born because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the Scythe to change our destiny. Form now on every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. You can stand up, will stand up. Slayers - everyone of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?
further along
Buffy: I want you to get out of my face!
Concluding scene
Willow: We changed the world. I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere.
Dawn: We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side.
then the last dialogue ever on BtVS
Dawn: Yeah, Buffy. What are we going to do now?

My dearest Joss,

How much do I love you? Let me count the ways. Buffy, Spike, Angel, Cordelia, Willow, Jayne, Mal, Kaylee, Illyria, Giles… the list is unending. Is my admiration and respect for your talent slightly biased? Perhaps. Then again, I believe it’s safe to say that you are responsible for the creation of three of the best television series to ever grace the airwaves. For giving me those shows, those characters, those storylines, plus fandoms and friends that I couldn’t do without, I want to thank you.

Thank you for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Thank you for creating a strong female character who wasn’t a Mary Sue. Buffy was strong, beautiful, and very often, a complete and utter bitch. I loved her, I hated her, and I cried and laughed with her like I haven’t any character before or since. If more writers could only give us female characters with the depth and insight that you do, then perhaps I wouldn’t spend so much of my time watching television rolling my eyes and surfing channels. Thank you also for the creation of Willow, Tara, Cordelia, Joyce, Anya, Faith, Fred, Drusilla, Darla, Glory, Harmony, Lilah, and yes, even Dawn. Thank you for Angel, Spike, Connor, Wesley, Xander, Giles, Oz, Gunn, Doyle, Lorne, Riley, Lindsey, Andrew, Jonathan, and the unforgettable Clem.

Thank you for Firefly. I’ve watched a lot of science fiction, a lot of television, and this was, without a doubt, the best show I’ve ever seen. An amazing feat with only 14 episodes, all of which were perfect. Typically it takes me a full season to really fall for a show, to really love the characters, and to really want to be a part of the universe. Firefly took me three episodes, and I knew it was something special. Thank you for Mal, Jayne, Inara, River, Simon, Kaylee, Wash, Zoe and Book. For Badger, YoSafBridg, Niska, Tracey, Fess Higgins, Nandi and Jubal Early. And most of all, the most important character of your creation, Serenity - the first time an inanimate object took on the characteristics and heart of a living, breathing being.

Thank you for writing engaging dialogue. So often writers tend to ignore what real conversations with their friends are like. The dialogue is without jokes, or the teasing banter often exchanged between friends, left to be dry and listless exposition meant to do little more than carry the story forward. You can’t feel close to a character, sympathize with a character, if you don’t understand them. Language is important, how people interact through their daily conversations say everything about them, but far too many writers just don’t get that. You get that, and you do it better than anyone. Thank you for making me laugh, even in the most scary and absurd of situations. Thank you for making me feel close to your characters.

Thank you for not being afraid to write outside the norm, to give us universes where vampires and demons exist, and where cowboys have traded in horses for spaceships. Where smugglers, thieves and mercenaries are heroes, and gorgeous, petite blondes kick some major ass. Where hookers are respected, and werewolves attend high school like anyone else.

Thank you for The Body. Thank you for Hush. Thank you for having the guts to write Once More With Feeling and convincing all of your actors to sing for it. And thank you for the Once More With Feeling soundtrack. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than singing along to those songs.

Thank you for Smile Time. Thank you for There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb. Thank you for Waiting in the Wings. Thank you, thank you, thank you for casting Adam Baldwin as Hamilton because… well, I’m shallow like that. More than that, though, thank you for being so loyal to your actors.

Thank you for Out of Gas, The Message, Ariel, Jaynestown, War Stories, Our Mrs. Reynolds, Objects in Space… well, you get the idea. Thank you for putting together a cast of such amazing and gracious individuals. It’s a wonderful feeling to be involved in a fandom where you actually know you are appreciated for simply being a fan.

Thank you for casting such pretty people in your shows. No, really. Thank you.

Thank you for creating such strong and enduring fandoms. The people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made, all because of the shows you’ve written – they can’t be measured. There’s a certain camaraderie when you meet a fellow Jossverse fan, knowing that they get what you get, and that they’ve fallen in love with the same things that you have. You can ramble off quotes to one another, and instantly understand the reference. Be they devoted to Buffy, Angel or Firefly, you know that they realize it isn’t about the vampires and the space cowboys, and it isn’t about witches or slayers or space hookers… but it’s about people. A Jossverse has more heart, more humanity, more strength and more ever-lasting endurance than every cop drama, medical drama, law drama, sitcom and reality show combined. Your fans get that, and I’m proud to be a part of that.

More than anything, I want to thank you for being you. For keeping your sense of humor in the face of adversity. For being reachable and down-to-earth to your fans. For just being a big ol’ fanboy yourself. Thank you for staying true to who you are and what you like, and for sharing it with the rest of us.

Thank you for the promise of future projects. I look forward to being a fan of any Jossverse to come for a very, very long time.

Music Box Sing-Along! IT WAS OMfG AWESOME, and it was so much fun. AFAIK, the theater sold out their house for the event, and I'm wondering if the managers of the MusicBox Theater were shocked and awed ,or if it was unexpected? Consider they were showing an TV episode that first aired in November 2001 for a TV series that aired its last episode in May 2003, and IMO, that's pretty amazing.

Close to 8.00 p.m. I met Sarah Jane,one of our Buffy fan Chicago moderators, near Women and Childern First in Andersonville. At about 9.00 p. m. Sarah Jane and I got to Take Five Grill and there were already about 11 - 14 of our group there, including my friends Scott and Nyx and this was there first time meeting with the group. The Take Five group eventually grew to about 19 or twenty including most of the folks mentioned below and Shiaim and William. So there's litlle way to name everyone from either Buffy fans Chicago or Buffy Chicago meetup who were there. The place was loud and only a little smokey. After having a little food and drink, it got to be 10.30 p. m. and the Will Call ticket line opened and people went over to claim their will call tickets; BTW, I found their will call pick-up process relatively painless and hassle free, but it seemed unusually byzantine. After that we hung around outside the Take Five for a little bit, talking to Gail and Lori, from the Chicago SciFi meetup, until people started lining up for the ticket holders line, FWIW, the theater was supposed to open at 11.30 p. m. for ticket holders, and that actually happened more like 11.47 p. m. Once we were inside the small group I was with tried to lay claim to a group of seats for the meetup group, and we did pretty successfully; so eventually, sitting together were me, Sarah Jane, Kelli, Morgan, John, Matt Davis, Gail, Lori, Jenn, Alan, Karen Justin and Rebecca and some others. However, the theater was eventually packed. Before showing the episode, they had Buffy-oke, people from the audience went to the front of the theater and did scenes from the series, scenes done were the first time Vamp Willow meets Willow in the library and the first line is "Look at me I'm all fuzzy" from Dopplegangland, and the other scene was from Innocence the first time Buffy meets Angel after their first eventful time together and the scene ends with Angelus living the apartment closing the door saying "I'll call you". Then there was the Sing-along, with people yelling 'SHUT UP DAWN' on specific cues, playing kazoos when Buffy reveals her fate after falling through Glory's portal, and lots of audience singing.

After the sing-along a few of us went over to Morgan's place for a little winding down and some final glasses of water, it was very cool. Thank you, Morgan for being generous to us.

Final evaluation. It was AWESOME and LEGENDARY! Thanks for reading this long message.

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Any thoughts on the Angel series? I know it wasn't done by Joss but has anyone watched it?