Review
Rob
Although the previous four stories undoubtedly had their moments, Life Serial, for me, is the episode where Buffy (the show) returns from the dead. A wonderfully funny and pop culture-laden script from Espenson and Fury, a team that really should work together much more often.
I'm still worried by how much I can relate to the geeks, however. Just for the record, I'm a Brosnan man myself, but don't have a magic bone. Still, the writers claim to be card-carrying übergeeks themselves, so perhaps I'm in good company.
Kim
Life Serial has got everything you could need - clever cultural references, weird paranormal stuff going on, a big dollop of humour and, best of all, kitten poker and great jokes about the Death Star. Laugh? I nearly did myself an injury. Have Jane Espenson and David Fury been watching Kevin Smith movies?
Not only all that, but the episode is clever, too. So Buffy is having problems settling in, but her difficulty at reintegrating into the acceptable norms of society is neatly illustrated by her trying on her new personae - building site Buffy (hurrah!), student Buffy, shop girl Buffy... Every masquerade she tries is thwarted by her predetermined role of ‘Slayer’. And don’t I sound like Mike the tutor?
Ann
As might be expected from a script by Jane Espenson and David Fury, Life Serial had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Every second the geeks were on screen was a joy, from Andrew and Warren's giggles at Jonathan's "magic bone" to the trio's bickerings over the best James Bond actor. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any sillier, along came the demon poker game, with kittens as chips.
All this contrasted beautifully with Buffy’s wistful foray into the world of work. Sarah Michelle Gellar really brought out the insecurity that anyone feels on their first day in a new place - and that was even before the geeks started messing with her!
The only thing that spoilt this fun-bucket of an episode a little was the rather slow ending - bringing the viewers, as well as Buffy, down to earth with a bump.
