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Top Ten Buffy Episodes

8/28/2023

I remember the night I discovered Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was actually two o'clock in the morning, and I couldn't sleep. I turned the TV on and saw a young girl get hit with a jolt of electricity while skulking around in the boys' locker room at night. Giles (didn't know who he was yet) came running in to see if she was okay. She said something like, "How does my hair look? Is my hair okay?"

And I was hooked.

Here is a list of my ten favorite episodes.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth: This is the first episode and sets everything up. We meet Willow (and find out she is a nerd that gets pushed around) and Xander (and find out he is goofy) and Giles (the new librarian who knows all about vampires.) Buffy wants nothing to do with Giles or fanged creatures. She isn't very good at reading people and strikes up a friendship with Cordelia. Glad that didn't last.

2. The Pack: I have to include this one on my list because Xander shows another side of himself. He gets cursed at the local zoo and hooks up with a bad gang of kids. The cool thing is he becomes their leader, and there is something about him. I didn't like Xander before this. The actor is good. I thought, this is a Xander I can get onboard with.

3. I Only Have Eyes for You: This one is definitely in my top ten. Ghosts of a teen boy and the teacher he was in love with inhabit the bodies of anyone around at the end of the school day. It leads to death each time until the ghosts possess Buffy and Angelus. LOVE it that there is a gender mix-up and the boy takes over Buffy while the woman takes Angelus. It ends in a kiss between Buffy and her former lover... until Angelus realizes what he's doing. He thrusts her away from him with an angry growl.

4. Band Candy: Have to put this here because Giles and Buffy's mom get their hands on band candy. It takes away their inhibitions and they start acting like teens again. Giles is a rebel without a clue, but kind of sexy. Buffy has to keep her eyes on them, but she doesn't do a very good job. They have relations on a police car. LOL. They are so embarrassed later that they can't even look at each other.

5. The Zeppo: I am adding this one because we follow Xander instead of the gang. They are dealing with something big, and he's just trying to stay alive. The others think they have to protect Xander, so they warn him to stay away and won't listen when he tries to tell them about the trouble he is in. Xander winds up saving the day (and the world), but I don't think anyone ever finds out.

6. Hush: One of the best. Monsters steal the voices of everyone in Sunnydale. Love the way the gang still manages to communicate. I could tell (most of the time) what they wanted to say by their expressions. Good work, guys.

7. Something Blue: Willow accidentally puts a spell on everyone. Spike and Buffy think they are in love and want to get married. That made this episode one of the funniest I have seen.

8. The Body: Sort of hate this one, but it was so well done, so hard not to watch. Buffy comes home and finds her mother done. Sarah Michelle Gellar shows what a phenomenal actress she is right here. "Mom? Mom? MOM?" Then she cries, "Mommy!?"

9. Once More with Feeling: They sing! Some of them aren't that good, but Spike was unbelievably good. Buffy had some good tunes. I really enjoyed this one. Got a good laugh when Xander thought he was going to have to marry a demon. Haha.

10. Tabula Rasa: Willow accidentally steals their memories away. All of them. Such a funny episode. Spike and Giles think they are father and son. Buffy doesn't know who she is, so she picks the name Rose. Anya and Giles think they are married. Demons attack and all hell breaks loose. But I was laughing the whole time.

When I looked over the list of Buffy episodes, I was torn. There are SO many good ones, so many that I love watching. I had to leave out when Spike first appeared and when Buffy killed Angel and when Anya looked like she got killed. I also didn't include the ending, which I loved, because I ran out of room.

What are your favorite episodes?

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Top Ten Presents I Have Received

8/15/2023

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Next week it's my birthday, so I won't be posting on that day. I'll have enough to do with celebrating my special day AND the release of my new book. It got me to thinking about celebrations and presents. So today I am going to list my top ten favorite gifts (birthday and otherwise) that I have received to date. Here we go.

1. Supernatural Script: a friend gave me a copy of a Supernatural script years ago. It is SO awesome. If you don't know, Supernatural is my favorite show of all-time. The script is for Asylum. They got it on Ebay.

2. My Sweet Sixteen Cake: Okay. It isn't actually a present. The thing is, my family was going through something bad, and we had just moved to another state. To make matters worse, we were WAY out in the country, far away from the nearest town. None of my friends could come to my house for my birthday. I expected it to be a sad, lonely time. But then my mother brought home a surprise cake. It was the prettiest cake I ever saw with teens piped on in colorful icing and little plastic things like a phone, a Coke bottle, and a record player. I'll never forget it. That cake made my birthday.

3. Cat Puzzle: I got an amazing puzzle for Christmas one year. After I put it together, I had it framed, and it's on my wall to this very day. It was a hard puzzle, too.

4. A stereo: When I was a kid, my parents surprised me at Christmas with a really nice stereo.

5. Music Box: When I was a tween, we didn't have very much money, and it was Christmas. My stepfather didn't have a job, and my mom didn't make much at hers. So I wasn't expecting to have a good Christmas. We barely had enough food in the house. Then someone signed us up to get help from a local church. They gave us some food and gave me and my brother both a present. Mine was a music box, the kind with the twirling ballerina that you give to little kids because real jewelry wouldn't fit in there. My mom didn't think I would want it, but I loved it. I still have it, and it still works. It reminds me to be grateful for everything, reminds me that there are good people in this world that care, and reminds me that I need to be generous when I am prospering so that maybe I can make someone else feel the way that I felt that year.

6. Supernatural Keychain: Awesome gift! Love to get presents based on the show.

7. Supernatural Bracelets: Okay, one more Supernatural item. I admit that I bought these two things for myself and picked out each charm. One has a D for Dean and things like a pie slice, the Impala, an airplane (because he doesn't like to fly) and a sign that reads: Saving People. Hunting Things. The Family Business. The other has an S for Sam, a clown, a cute tiny bottle of salt, and a sign that says: Salt n Burn.

8. Dragon Journal: someone gave me a journal that is black with a bright red design that looks like a red flower that is losing a petal. I call it my Dragon Journal because I'm writing about my dragon book in it.

9. A Horse Blanket: No, it isn't a blanket that goes on a horse. It has a horse ON it. This has been my favorite blanket for about 30 years. It was given to me when I was a kid, and it still reminds me of my grandmother's house. Unfortunately, it is falling apart. I'm still looking for a replacement.

10. Grandmother's Jewelry Box: My grandfather gave it my grandmother before they were married, and she gave it to me before she died. It's beautiful, shiny black with a painted garden scene on top and a secret compartment inside. Reminds me of her, so it is one of my favorite things.

I won't be back for Top Ten Tuesday next week because it will be my birthday, but I will see you a week later. Remember to return. I think the next Top Ten will be about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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Top Ten Hilarious Church Signs

8/7/2023

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I love funny church signs. Here are my favorite ten. Hope they make you laugh. Or at least give you something to think about.

1. The fact that there is a highway to hell and only a stairway to heaven says a lot about the expected traffic.
2. No SPF needed to spend time with the Son.
3. God recycles. He made you from dust.
4. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
5. Need a lifeguard? Jesus walks on water.
6. Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?
7. Can't sleep? Talk to the shepherd.
8. We have a prophet sharing plan.
9. Jesus said, "I'll be back," long before Arnold did.
10. We are not Dairy Queen, but we do have great Sundays.

There you have it, my top ten list for awesome church signs. I still had a few left over, so here are some bonus ones.

1. Feeling warm? This church is prayer-conditioned.
2. God wants full custody, not just weekend visits.
3. If God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seats.
4. This is your sign to come to church.
5. Church parking only. Violators will be baptized.
6. The best vitamin for a believer is B1.
7. Our sign broke. Come inside for the message.
8. Jesus is our Get-Out-of-Hell-Free card.

If you know of any funny ones that I missed or thought-provoking ones, leave it in the comments. Thank you.

And remember to return next week for another Top Ten Tuesday.

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Top Ten Supernatural Problems

8/1/2023

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Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday!
I love to talk about my favorite show, Supernatural. There aren’t very many things I don’t like about it. But there are ten. So today I’m doing the Top Ten Things I Don’t Like about Supernatural. Read through my list, and see if you agree.

John and Mary age 15 years in 4 years: We see the young versions of John and Mary in flashbacks. Dean goes back in time and meets with them twice, if I’m not mistaken. On the episode where Sam joins him in the past, Mary tells the boys that she is currently pregnant with Dean. So that means a little more than four years later, she’s dead, and she’s aged into the older version of Mary. I also think it’s weird when John travels to the future and gets to spend time with the older Mary. They are about the same age here. Yet, she died over twenty years ago. It just bugs me. Every time I see it, I’m like, this is so weird. I really wish they would have had a younger Mary and an older John.
Chuck: Chuck was NOT supposed to be playing God. The people behind the show made the decision to change that after fans came up with this theory. I’m sorry, but this was dumb. Dean had a necklace that was supposed to burn in the presence of God, and even if you want to overlook that, the angels would have known who Chuck was. Castiel would have known. I liked Chuck until they changed his role. Now I can’t stand the episodes with him in it.
Jack didn’t get rid of monsters: When the show ended, Jack brought everyone back that had disappeared during the final battle with Chuck. He could have left monsters out of the equation. Why did he choose to bring them back? That doesn’t make any sense to me. He could have sent them all the Purgatory and let the boys have a new start.
Should have ended differently: I did not like the ending at all. After everything they went through together, Sam and Dean should have been together. If you figure their ages and that Sam didn’t die until he was an old man, Sam probably spent more of this life without Dean than with him. Or at least as long. I also hated it that they put Sam in a dreary home with Bobby’s old wallpaper. His life looked depressing even though he had a child. Where was the mother? Did she die like all his other loves? That’s worse than depressing. I really wish they would have ended it like this. Sam and Dean die while saving the world. They go to Purgatory and are attacked by monsters. John is suddenly there. He kills the monsters. Maybe Bobby should be there to help. John tells them to follow him. They need to hurry. He throws the weapons into the trunk. We have a trunk shot with all three Winchesters. John says something like, “Glad you’re finally here. We’re in the middle of a war, boys. Get ready. We’ve got work to do.” Then he slams the trunk shut, and viewers who are upset over the show ending at least know they are out there hunting still. Gives us hope for a movie or something.
Exposition on first episode: The pilot episode. I cringe every time Sam complains that their dad has been hunting the thing that killed their mom for years and still hasn’t found it. He tells Dean things that Dean already knows, and it sounds so awkward. I heard someone from the show—I think it was Kripke—saying that it makes him cringe, too. If he could, he would do it differently.
Demons Change Bodies: This is fine IF they would just act the same. Ruby becomes a totally different person when she changes from Katie Cassidy to Gen Padalecki. The demon should act and sound the same even if they are in a different body. We also see it happen with Meg. They should have just come up with different characters for these actors, because they were different characters. They just used names we were familiar with.
Another Problem in the First Episode: When Sam is six months old, the lights flicker, and Mary just taps the lightbulb as though she knows nothing about hunting. I’m sure the producers had no idea that Mary was a hunter when the show first started. It happens. I just wish they had figured it out before they started shooting the show. We all know that flickering lights mean something supernatural is in the house.
The Whole Angels/Demons/God Storyline: Surprisingly, there are a lot of Christians watching the show. Or at least there were until they decided to make God the bad guy. The worst thing about this is that some people know nothing about God or angels, and this is where they are getting their information. I heard one guy saying he was glad to find the show because he didn’t know anything about angels, and now he thinks he does. My advice to people watching the show that know nothing about God is, read the Bible. That’s where the truth can be found, not on shows like this.
The Way They Eat: Sam could not survive on salad. The guy is pure muscle and needs a ton of protein. Dean couldn’t eat bacon cheeseburgers all the time (not to mention pie) and be in such great shape either. But I understand the way they eat adds funny moments to the show, so this doesn’t bother me as much as the other stuff. Just thought I’d throw it in.
Fans Hating on the Women: I read an article by one of the producers saying that fans (female fans) hated the women characters. They were jealous or something and wanted the female characters gone as soon as they appeared. Bella was strongly disliked. Not by me. I thought they should have explored her terrible childhood sooner and how Crowley made a deal with her when she was a kid. Maybe it would have garnered enough sympathy to keep her around for a while. The only female character fans seemed to open their hearts to was Charlie, and that’s probably because she was gay. She wasn’t seen as a threat since she wasn’t interested in Sam or Dean. The show felt they had to keep those two single, so they killed Sam’s love interests and made Dean phobic about commitment. At least until he met Lisa. I don’t know how fans felt about her. The article was written before she came onboard, but they probably didn’t like her either.

Is there anything you think they should have done differently that I forgot to mention?

Don't forget to come back next Tuesday for another Top Ten list.

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Top Ten Buffy Episodes

Top Ten Presents I Have Received

Top Ten Hilarious Church Signs

Top Ten Supernatural Problems

Kasi Blake

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