Allyson, I don't think there is an e-mail address at the klbc.org site. I would think the thesuccubusclub.com site had the address where you can send questions.

What "show, don't tell" means is that "showing" is revealing things through character action (remember: speaking is an action, too) - "telling" is simply stating things for the audience, rather than letting them discover it for themselves (which can be done without speaking).

But it sure sounds like you're arguing that Show = writing you like, and Tell = writing you don't like.

For instance, your distinction between "showing" the visual joke and "telling" the visual joke seems to come down to the difference between giving the audience a brief example and hitting the audience over the head with it. Whereas I believe we were being "shown" that Andrew is a dork and Anya is callous and emotionally clueless, but the scene was bad in that it just went on too long. (Nobody was saying "Andrew's a dork" in lieu of us seeing from his actions that he's a dork.)

Popping in to say that, depending on what happens next week, I may change my OTP to Anya/Xander/Andrew. Or they should at least remake "Three's Company" with that trio.

I would think the thesuccubusclub.com site had the address where you can send questions.

Oooh. Good call.

So not touching the SDT debate. I discussed my feelings on the subject in my popgurls piece last fall. But on the subject of this:

But amongst so many minds, not one little voice said, "How are we gonna recover from this? This is the Worst of the Worst, so we're gonna have to come up with the Best of the Best to recover."?

This is something that has bugged me quite a bit over the past year and a half or so. There have been several occasions when something happened on the show, fans reacted in a certain way and the writing staff would say, "We never thought people would take it this way." Or "We never believed people would think XYZ."

And I'm pretty much at a loss of why that is. To me, the logical follow-up to "Spike tries to rape Buffy" is "Okay, but what happens next? Where do we go from there?" And I feel as though, with many of the storyline decisions they've made, there was never that follow up discussion.

I look back on Season 2 and Angelus killing Jenny Calendar. A conscious decision was made for Angelus to be in vamp face. Why? Because Angelus was committing a horrific act that the audience might not be able to forgive him for. But they knew Angel was coming back and getting his own series. So they chose to do that scene in a way that would allow Angel to come back and be a good guy again.

I'm at a loss trying to figure out what changed between then and now. The only thing I can come up with is that Joss became more and more hands off. Though I hate that reasoning.

That wrap-party Sarah-sucks glee article is hysterical!

Have I mentioned I hate stories that use "an insider" as a source, expecially the only source?

I'm a big believer in SDT, but I don't think I'm as absolutist as many here. Because I don't have a problem with a character saying, for example, "I love you," and having them be utterly sincere and honest. I really don't. That's not a violation of SDT unless it comes out of the blue.

Okay. Let's Doblerize. And I mean *myself,* too, because I jumped in it.

The majority of people I know prefer to see a character's growth/feelings/etc. through actions rather than the character just saying "I feel XYZ."

No TV show/movie/novel/play is going to be ALL "show." Except, I suppose, silent movies. The issue most of us are talking about is how much "show" and how much "tell" we prefer.

Some people -- and it seems Ted is one of them -- don't have a problem with a higher percentage of "I feel XYZ" versus, for instance, watching a character cry to indicate sadness. They're okay with more telling.

It's like how much jelly you like on a peanut butter sandwich. (The analogy isn't perfect, so don't camp out on it, please.)

Also, nobody is going to budge on their position, I can tell. So there it is.

Aye, ma'am. Doblerizing.

I have to go home now anyway. :-)

No TV show/movie/novel/play is going to be ALL "show." Except, I suppose, silent movies.

• cough* They have the cards inserted with dialogue or other exposition.

I'm just sayin'.

What are those cards called?

Thank you for the radio interview link. It's really interesting.