For it to seem like the events on the show were occurring in realtime for the East Coast (which would see it first), the Sunnydale time should have been five-ish.

Was it supposed to seem like it was happening in real time across the country, or was it supposed to seem like it was happening now?

The former is impossible on network TV, the latter acheived in Eastern and Pacific.

It's not something we usually talk about in front of the rest of you, but we on the east coast are prescient, anyhow. The time stamp was fine, either way.

or was it supposed to seem like it was happening now?

The former is impossible on network TV, the latter acheived in Eastern and Pacific.

The latter was achieved in the Pacific; I will give you that. But it wasn't achieved in Eastern because the time given, though it matched the time in the Eastern time zone, was describing a location in California, whose time is three hours back, so it may have looked like it was "now" but it wasn't. Whereas with you, yes, eight o'clock in Sunnydale would have been eight o' clock for you.

The time stamp was fine, either way.

For the record, I thought so too, and I'm only arguing this because I only just realized how it technically doesn't work. But many, many things that are cool technically don't work.

P-C, you're making my former and the latter the same.

What I'm saying is the "now" is more independent of the time zone. It's eight o clock now, the action is happening at 8. That's what I mean.

If the time said 5, it wouldn't make sense in that framework.

Relative timing, not absolute.

the answer is much what I suspected, which is "It was cool."

I think the last time we talked about this, cool was the consensus. I just keep hoping that one day I'll hear the "real reason", although by now I accept that it probably doesn't exist and cool will have to do.

P-C - - where is your willing suspension of disbelief? While you are watching the show you are in that reality.

While you are watching the show you are in that reality.

Yup. I don't think Sunnydale is supposed to be any further from you than it is from me.

I have the S7 box, but haven't listened to the CWDP commentary yet. Joss's commentary on Chosen kind of made me cry - he just sounded so bloody tired of the whole thing.

I have the S7 box, but haven't listened to the CWDP commentary yet. Joss's commentary on Chosen kind of made me cry - he just sounded so bloody tired of the whole thing.

I agree - he doesn't seem to have the energy to be his usual witty self. However, the CWDP commentary is probably one of the best I've heard in all the DVDs. Informative and freaking hilarious. I heart Danny Strong and Tom Lenk.

what's startling, looking at them again, is that you can map the quality plunge to the last days of Firefly. From Bring On The Night to Lies My Parents Told Me I get the distinct impression that no-one was steering the Buffyboat - there is a lack of the trademark odd Joss line here and there - and then with Dirty Girls it just kicks back into gear.