Uhm...
Mmmmhmmm. Okay, I'm glad to see my cyncism wasn't wasted. It is such a narrative circle jerk. And lordy, the diminishing returns.
signed,
Still Thinks It Was Cheap-Ass Shit To Bring Angel Back
Bester: Mal. Whaddya need two mechanics for? Mal: I really don't.
'Out Of Gas'
Other Media
Discussion of Buffy and Angel comics, books, and more. Please don't get into spoilery details in the first week of release.
DavidS - Mar 22, 2005 7:47:30 am PST #7698 of 10000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Tom Scola - Mar 22, 2005 7:49:18 am PST #7699 of 10000
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
OK, to be fair, the Barry Allen thing was a cheat. It was really the Counter-Flash posing as Barry.
§ ita § - Mar 22, 2005 7:51:14 am PST #7700 of 10000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
And lordy, the diminishing returns.
How do you know if you didn't read it?
Still Thinks It Was Cheap-Ass Shit To Bring Angel Back
Same with Buffy?
DavidS - Mar 22, 2005 7:51:35 am PST #7701 of 10000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Is the Counter-Flash different from Dr. Zoom?
Matt the Bruins fan - Mar 22, 2005 7:52:02 am PST #7702 of 10000
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
David, it wasn't really Barry Allen that they brought back in that story. Still dead .
P.M. Marc - Mar 22, 2005 7:52:30 am PST #7703 of 10000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
David is amusingly outing himself as to how far behind the comics times he is...
I loved that Barry-not-Barry storyline, though. Waid-era Flash was the shit.
P.M. Marc - Mar 22, 2005 7:53:28 am PST #7704 of 10000
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
IIRC, Barry's the one character with a 'dead for good' stamp per DC editorial.
DavidS - Mar 22, 2005 7:54:58 am PST #7705 of 10000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
How do you know if you didn't read it?
As a matter of storytelling principle, I think it's a bad idea. It's the crackpipe of cheap narrative. It jerks people around. It's like putting a child in jeopardy. And it really diminished my love for Farscape. I didn't feel anything when Zhaan died - and she was a character I really liked. But they'd just killed off and resurrected Aeryn within the previous episodes.
Same with Buffy?
A bit less. For better or worse, Joss made her pay for it with an entire season of angst. So while death wasn't as consequential as it is in real-life - it wasn't inconsequential either. Angel got pooped out of Hell and had a couple of episodes of nightsweats and that's it. They never even really alluded to his 200 years in hell that much.
§ ita § - Mar 22, 2005 7:57:29 am PST #7706 of 10000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I don't think the killing (or killing and resurrecting) principle is a bad thing. I think doing it crappily is a bad thing.
Frankenbuddha - Mar 22, 2005 7:57:36 am PST #7707 of 10000
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
They never even really alluded to his 200 years in hell that much.
And usually only then for a cheap laugh. Some REALLY funny cheap laughs, but yeah.