Though, again, me being disappointed in Buffy is, in my book, higher praise than gushing effulgent at almost any other show on TV.

I love the frequency with which 'effulgent' is used on this board. Makes my heart all bulgy, it does.

The explanation for the Giles weirdness was very unsatisfying.

Same goes for Jane Espenson's explanation that when Joyce appeared to Dawn, it was just the First - end of story.

These things fall into the same category as adding Caleb at the last minute because a noncorporeal villain wasn't working.

When I was watching the season 4 DVDs I was struck by how much better they used to be at the planning and continuity stuff. For example, Oz and Veruca's passing encounter that pays off several episodes later. That stuff was just so cool, so it was disappointing when they lost it.

Same goes for Jane Espenson's explanation that when Joyce appeared to Dawn, it was just the First - end of story.

I hadn't read that. That is strange, and I am off-put.

FE!Joyce doesn't make any sense, she was unlike the First in any other form.

FE!Joyce doesn't make any sense,

Read Cindy's thoughts about this about thirty posts up. I felt better after I did. And Victor's fic that is linked right below it. Really, it helped.

I would link - but they are just right up there (see?).

The Joss interview had yet another version of the "why Amber Benson didn't appear in Season 7" story. It just gets weirder and weirder.

WHEDON: Plan A was to bring Tara back.

IGNFF: I heard there were some failed discussions about that.

WHEDON: Amber didn't want to do it. She wanted to do other things. I had a whole – I used to tell people, "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to have her in a couple of flashbacks, keep her alive, and then at the end ..." I had a whole show figured out that ended with the return of Tara. I used to cry every time I pitched it. It was going to be Tara's her one true love, people are going to be blown away, they'll never see it coming – except on the Internet – and it's going to be just about the biggest thing. Quite frankly, Amber just didn't want to do it – which is her decision. I was like, "Okay, the thing where I cried, and we all cried, and I told you about? That's gone. So, instead, we're going to go out and find somebody really hot, and we're going to make this about moving on, because that's the only option we have.

He's a weirdo.

But I do love:

people are going to be blown away, they'll never see it coming – except on the Internet

I had a whole show figured out that ended with the return of Tara.

I really can't stand the thought of how much better this would have made Willow's arc in S7 for me. If I think about it too much - I get really really sad.

hatekennedy.hateherhateher.

editted to say really one more time 'cause what the hell.

He's a weirdo.

Yeah. This version doesn't really make sense in light of the CWDP shooting script.

Bad Joss. Want Real Giles!, not Cheap Joke Giles.But the Tara story made me go "Aw!"

I've heard that "alternate S7 with Returned Tara" thing before, and I don't believe a word of it.