Juxtaposition

After posting a clip from Hush yesterday I got to thinking about the different ways that Joss Whedon and the great writers at Buffy challenged the typical television formula. First they did an episode relying on very little dialog, instead using the physical acting of the cast and the background music the tell the story, very successfully, I might add. I have read that Joss wrote Hush as a response to criticism a statement saying what made Buffy great, was the dialog. So just to prove that the show wasn't just about the lines, he wrote an episode with almost no dialog. This episode also featured some of the most frightening demons ever on the show.

In a juxtaposition to Hush, in season five, Joss filmed The Body with plenty of dialog, but no background music or sound effects. Most of us probably don't even realize how much we are influenced by the background music in television and the movies. Joss wanted this episode, in which Buffy discovers her mother's dead body, to feel as real as possible, so he filmed it the same way that someone would live it, without dramatic overtures and background filler noise. This episode also features, in my opinion, Anya's greatest scene. In these few lines you see exactly who she is, a newly mortal ex-demon, who sometimes comes across as insensitive, but is really just trying to adjust to living as a human in a confusing and painful world. She says what everyone else is thinking, but is too afraid to say out loud. I always cry when watching this scene. Ok, how 'bout something funny to pick us up after that?

Here is a scene from Once More, with Feeling. The season six musical episode. When I first saw the promos for this episode I thought it looked really cheesy and was a lame ploy to up ratings. But, as usual, I was wrong and I learned that I should always trust Joss to do something amazing. It was a fun episode with underlying seriousness. This is my favorite number. So with or without dialog, background music, or even as a musical, if it's Buffy, it's going to be good!