5.22: The Gift

[markpud]

it did seem a little too easy for the doc to depose Spike, but I think he had the element of surprise, I don't think Spike was expecting such speed or agility from him...

and yes, it probably was mostly for the dramatic effect, and the guilt in later episodes....

[Highlander II]

Yet another 'scene clip' from syndication:

http://www.studiesinwords.de

XANDER: Shpadoinkle.
ANYA: What is that?
GILES: The portal must open up there.
BUFFY: Will, you're up.

Close angle on Willow's face.
GILES: Need anything?
WILLOW: Could use a little courage.

Spike's hand comes into the shot, holding a small flask in front of Willow's face.

WILLOW: The real kind.

Spike looks over at her. She looks at him.

WILLOW: But thanks.

Spike nods, puts the flask away.

Shot of the tower. People are walking toward it as sparks (from welding) come from the yard below.

The part in bold is cut from the syndicated version of the ep - and it was one of my fave interchanges in the ep - it's very Spike w/ the flask -

And, it was only cut for 'time compression' - to make the ep fit the shorter time slot on FX - I'm not sure if Fox gets to run these, and if they cut as much as FX - haven't seen 'em on Fox --

[obcooke]

Oh man, they cut that?

I like that moment too. Besides a great sight gag and classic Spike, it also shows a bit of true comraderie between a Scooby and Spike.

Especially when Willow politely refuses, since we're so used to them insulting Spike at every opportunity.

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On Thursday, U.S. Thanksgiving, I'm having a friend over that has resisted watching Buffy. (He invested a good sum of money in a collectable quality poster from the original movie, that later got ruined, so he has bad memories.)

Over dinner I've convinced him to watch some Buffy and I'm going to show "The Gift" followed by "Once More with Feeling". <BOTH UNCUT!!>

That's my favorite two-some besides the two-part "Becoming".

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BTW, I believe that all syndicated episodes are the same. I think that the distributor edits them and then sells them that way, but I could be wrong.

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[XANDER: Shpadoinkle]

You know, that word has bothered me for a couple of years now.

It sounds Yiddish, but I was never sure.

I finally did a search and found out that it's a word from "Cannibal: The Musical" which is a musical from Trey Parker, a co-creator of "South Park". The movie is about Alfred Packer, the only person ever convicted of cannibalism after getting stranded in the Colorado Mountains in 1874.

There's even a song that is titled, "Shpadoinkle" that includes a line "... it's a shpadoinkle day."

The definition was very elusive, but I finally found an interview with Parker:

QUESTION: What does "Shpadoinkle" mean?

PARKER: What?

QUESTION: "Shpadoinkle."

PARKER: "Shpadoinkle?"

QUESTION: Yeah. What does that exactly mean?

PARKER: It means everything and nothing. There's a word in Alfred Packer, in Cannibal! — everyone says "Shpadoinkle" all the time. And it is — I don't know, it's like "tootie bars" and "cheesy poofs," you know? We just make up words just for the hell of it.

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So now I know, another vague cultural reference explained.

[Highlander II]

Originally posted by obcooke
Oh man, they cut that?

I like that moment too. Besides a great sight gag and classic Spike, it also shows a bit of true comraderie between a Scooby and Spike.

Especially when Willow politely refuses, since we're so used to them insulting Spike at every opportunity.

Unfortunately, yes. I was fortunate enough to catch the 'uncut' version of both "TWotW" and "The Gift" when UPN had them - but FX sliced and diced and cut that -- I'm sure they cut more, but I haven't been over them w/ a fine-toothed comb yet - I caught this b/c it was a great Spike gag -

And yeah, it shows comraderie btwn Will and Spike - but she'd been a bit more lenient before -- if you recall in "Forever" - she wasn't yellin' at Spike for bringing flowers, in fact, she was the one who noticed he hadn't left a card - and even then, Xander felt a little bad for yelling at Spike (not much, but a little) -

BTW, I believe that all syndicated episodes are the same. I think that the distributor edits them and then sells them that way, but I could be wrong.

Nah - FX cuts out an extra couple minutes b/c they need room to air more of their garbage commercials -- I've compared and I think Fox doesn't cut as bad as FX - but Fox either stopped airing BtVS, or it's on at some unworldly hour---

So now I know, another vague cultural reference explained.

hehe -- thanx for the research!

And it sounds like a Trey Parker word, now that I think about it.

[obcooke]

[Highlander II: Fox either stopped airing BtVS, or it's on at some unworldly hour]

Well, it's syndicated, so it's up to each individual station when to show it. My local affiliate shows them on Saturday afternoon, but the time varies, usually at 5pm but if they decide to show a movie or have a lot of infomercials it moves. It has been on as early as noon.

They also have a late night show Saturday at 2am (Sunday morning actually). Those shows have also varied, showing at 3 am or 4 am sometimes.

The strange thing being that they are from two different seasons. The afternoon shows have been Seasons 3-4 and the late night are Season 5????? That's when I saw The Body and started discussing this whole "what's missing in syndication" thing.

[Highlander II]

Argh! There's another one -

Xander: Smart chicks are so hot. <dreamy>
Willow: You couldn't have figured that out in the 10th grade?


Yep - they cut Willow's line - no idea why - and I love that line! harkens back to S1 -3 BtVS - they always cut the good stuff - grrr argh ---