standing up to be counted with the BB loving folks

"Beer Bad" was one of the Buffy episodes I saw before I really started watching the show. I thought it was hysterical, and was surprised when I joined fandom and found out it was considered a lesser episode.

So glad to know I'm not alone.

Beer Bad grew on me incredibly over numerous viewings, to where I sometimes select it on purpose. I'd been watching BtVS for about a year. I think I enjoyed it, but I'd just found the Bronze. It got mauled, there, and I think that colored my view.

Then I watched it, and found myself enjoying it. I found myself quoting, "Boy. Smell nice." Each time I watched it, I liked it more and more.

I've always loved how she clubbed Parker at the end. I didn't care if that was gratuitous. It was great. I loved Willow completely suckering Parker. I loved Xander in it (always wondered how much he kept for his tip from the cave frat boys).

Cindy, I'm actually quoted in the FAQ for the codification of "foamy", and my reasons for loving the writing in BB are all in there.

deb--I read that so long ago, I'd forgotten who said what.

Whee!

Deborah Grabien - B.2.2931: "Maybe it's a girl thing, but watching her deck Parker not once but twice, watching her sniff Xander (boy smells...good), watching the lovely subtle way Joss brought it home to us that the slayer skills are atavistic, not learned, watching all their tilted heads as they stared down at decked-for-the-second-time Parker, the fact that most of this season's iconic quips in our household came from that episode (well, also from PANGS)...all in all, BEER BAD made this cave-slayer, well...FOAMY."

Second? Oo! We have a pattern. Someday the OED can blame Tracey Forbes and Deborah Grabien.

Deborah Grabien - B.2.3028: "Daniel D-L in buckskins in MOHICANS...foamy. No, wait, ME foamy..."

Heh. Yup.

Foooooooooaaaaamy.

It really was a beautifully written episode, but also a brilliantly acted one. Joss gave it the full atavism take (actually, did Joss write that one? The knife-edged comedy in there smells Whedonesque or maybe Jane-ish), and the cast ran with it; ATH and NB, in my mind, turned in two of their better days on that one. ATH, especially, did the frazzled exasperated thing with just the right undercurrent of "UH-oh" running with it.

Hrmm. Hate Beer Bad. Didn't think I did, but then I rewatched it and realised I'd dressed up all the best moments in more splendid clothes than they wore onscreen.

Which left nowt in it for me. It's my second least liked ep, just above BvsD.

I think BB may be a writers' episode; reading it (the written word, literally, as opposed to the interpretation) left me nodding and going, yup. Showed this, and this, and this, revealed this about the character with two or three short lines and a lot of intelligence, yup, yup....

Whereas looking at the script for OMWF? Honestly, it's perfect or close to it, but it's really a libretto, or at least it reads that way to me. I can't read it as a writer's script; it's a musician's script.

I like Beer Bad.

Also, Plei has killed me with her Wesley drabbles. I am a puddle of lovesPlei'sWesleysoverymuch goo on the floor.

(actually, did Joss write that one? The knife-edged comedy in there smells Whedonesque or maybe Jane-ish)

I think it was written by Tracy Forbes (who--I think--didn't last long, but I think that's the Tracy Forbes mentioned in your FAQ entry).