Mia

Yep, I agree with all that! I'll also add: people who stand in the middle of the pavement to stop and have a conversation (get to the side out the way!) and people who walk two/three/four abreast, see you coming towards them and stay like that, instead of getting into single file. They obviously expect you to move into the road. Well, I just refuse to do that now. I'm not risking getting run over because they're selfish and ill-mannered.

Nah, don't bother with the growing up. It's not all it's cracked up to be. That exchange you quoted when Buffy and Faith meet Wesley is hilarious! I laughed like mad too, especially when Buffy says, "Now why didn't I think of that?" I forgot all about Wesley - I really, really dislike him. And then he turned up in Angel. Ack. Well, I've started watching Angel and last night I watched the one where Kate the cop goes to sensitivity training. Very mediocre.

Exactly! You won't be disappointed!

You've missed a couple of really good shows! Why not rent the first two seasons of Buffy? I say the first two, because the first series, although excellent, is more a "baddie of the week" format, but some really excellent story arcs get going in season 2. Go on, you know you want to! *adopts Mrs Doyle voice* Go on, go on, go on!

I can't quote the bit you put in spoiler tags about Spike, but I have to disagree about him being out of character. I don't think he did what he did

Yeah, I thought the same about The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Perhaps! Or perhaps it was because the story was such a big stinking pile of . (Believe it or not, I do class myself as a Koontz fan, but this book was beyond terrible.)

I've got the whole Angel boxset as well, but strangely enough I'm having trouble working up the enthusiasm to watch it. I've only seen about three episodes so far! It really must be overdue a re-watch, because I can remember hardly anything about it. The only part of any episode I can visualise is Probably I remember that because I loved that bit. It's strange though, when I could remember so much about Buffy, even before I watched them all again. When both shows were running, I could never decide which one was my favourite. I really like them both, but on the whole I've decided on Buffy. However, that might change when I get around to watching all of Angel!

Thou spongy bat-fowling pumpion! I clicked on quite a few, but chose this for its bizarreness!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible - 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8 1984 - George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D

Dean Koontz nearly always used the phrase "recombinant DNA" in his earlier books. He also loves describing rain - his descriptions of it can run for paragraphs, if not pages. (See The Taking.)

You're right, there are some damn good episodes there. I'm not too hot with seeing titles and remembering the story, but the fact that I can remember most of those listed above proves I really liked them. Regarding The Wish, I know it was the one where Cordy wishes Buffy had never come to town. Was it the one where Dunno what season it is, but one of my faves is Hush. The only episode to have baddies that I found truly scary, it was pretty nasty. I just loved the creepy way the Gentlemen moved - excellent acting. Also brilliant humour, where Firstly, I just don't rate the guy as an actor. I don't even like him in the Austin Powers movies. He did have some great lines, but he always sounded like he was just reading them out and they never quite worked. Plus, I didn't like the way he treated Willow! He cheated on her with that Veruca (how can you date someone named after a foot wart?), and then he just disappeared and broke her heart. Sorry Oz fans! I did warm to her a bit by the end, but I just hated the way she reacted when Enjoy the next 100 eps, Roxi!

At last, I've finally got the chance to read this thread and comment! I watched every episode of Buffy when it was first broadcast on terrestrial TV (BBC2?) and was hooked from the very first episode by the tremendously witty writing. I remember watching the episode where Buffy has to kill Angel in floods of tears. It took me days to get over that! It was such a treat to buy the complete boxset and watch all the episodes through in order. I might even do it again! Anyway, random thoughts... I can't choose a favourite season, they were all great (even series 4, which no-one seems to like). Plus another reason I can't pick a fave is because my memory is shocking and I can't remember which episodes belong in which series. There aren't many episodes I don't like, but the one that always sticks in my mind is "Go Fish". God, I really hate that one. It was a stinker. It didn't improve on the second watching either. The characters... I used to fancy Angel, but to be honest Spike is hotter. Angel's "tortured soul" thing gets a bit wearing and monotonous after a while. I much prefer Spike's honesty - he's evil and he admits he is. Also, Spike gets all the best one liners! I find it quite interesting that a lot of people don't really like Buffy, seeing her as a whiner, and I used to feel the same. But after my marathon re-watch of all the episodes, I saw Buffy in a new light. I don't think she does complain much, considering what the poor girl goes through! How hard is her life? Sure, she has cool super-powers, but at what cost? She has to juggle being the slayer with school, work, family commitments... A lot of people struggle with those by themselves, without the added pressure of fighting evil! Because she has such a strong sense of duty, she can never just walk away or treat it as fun, like Faith did. Plus, she is incredibly brave: she sacrifices herself (literally) to save others. I think she does a damn good job. And anyway, anyone who has Dawn for a "sister" is entitled to whinge. So, my favourite characters are Spike and Buffy herself. I couldn't stand Oz, and disliked Dawn, who seemed to spend her time trying to get herself and/or Buffy killed. I liked Willow until she got "above herself" as a powerful witch. I always liked Xander, Giles, Faith, Anya (hilarious) but found Joyce, Drusilla and Tara pretty annoying. And I didn't like the three "uber nerds" and the fact that they were the "big bad" for most of the season. I'm glad someone else has mentioned the whole "Terra" thing, it drove me nuts. I think Spike's character was developed the most. When you consider what he was like when he arrived - a pretty conventional bad guy - the way he changed was very interesting. I suppose he changed for selfish reasons, ie he loved Buffy so wanted to do good things to please her, but by the end I think he truly had changed and wanted to do the right thing to make up for his past. And Well, that's a pretty long post, so I'll stop now. I wonder where Roxi's up to now in her Buffy marathon?

Kimmy, I treated myself to the complete Buffy boxset and sat down and watched all seven series over the course of a few months. I always loved this programme, but I saw once again the sheer quality of the writing and have now decided that it's my favourite show of all time! I couldn't pick a favourite series, as they were all excellent. Buy the boxset, you won't regret it!

O2. I only found out today when I tried to call work on my mobile that the b******s had disconnected me for supposedly not making a chargeable call in the last six months, when I know I did. I don't use my mobile much (I keep it for emergencies), but I looked at my call register and it showed I made calls. So now I have to watch out for when I'm reconnected and then rush to top up

It bugs me when I see a headline in the newspaper "Teacher ...whatever", and then when I read the story it's actually about a classroom assistant. They are not the same thing.

I found that brilliant, compelling, exciting, thought-provoking, scary, disturbing, upsetting and sickening. I thought the whole five parts were excellent, but I spent most of the final episode either in tears or trying not to cry. All in all though, I did think it was excellent.

Hmm. I can't say I'm really surprised. Most of the time it seemed to be treading water and the quality was really inconsistent. There would be a brilliant episode, followed by about six really tedious ones. I actually nearly fell asleep during one episode, I was that bored. Then, just when I would decide not to watch it any more, there would be another really great episode! I also didn't like some of the casting - I loved Summer Glau, but couldn't stand Lena Headey as Sarah Connor or Shirley Manson. Still, it ended series 2 on a big cliffhanger and it would have been nice to see how it continued.

I hope there will be more Torchwood. This series has been (so far) one of the best things I've seen on TV for a long time. Maybe I've just seen too much sci-fi, but I'm not convinced that Anyway, I'm really looking forward to tonight!

I totally agree that it's gone on for too long. It's not like me to leave a series unfinished, but I plodded on with the first five books and then had to give in. The were all too samey, too confusing and were just boring me rigid. Still, I'm hardly the target audience, so maybe children think they're great. I just don't have the patience to read the last two!

This doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all, but I just had to mention the ridiculous character names... Who on earth is called Monk Kokkalis?! Purlease...