|
|
Post by Clare on Sept 26, 2008 11:04:21 GMT -5
6.12 Doublemeat Palace - Episode #112
Buffy takes a job at a burger bar, but soon suspects that the ‘secret ingredient’ and disappearing co-workers may be connected.
Review (also post a score out of 10) and discuss this episode.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on May 30, 2009 12:05:34 GMT -5
Ok this episode didn’t even really feel like buffy to me. Most of the episodes consisted of scenes at the doublemeat palace, which were just a waste of time in regards to the overall story. If this was just some weird comedy drama show, I would have found this episode highly entertaining, but since it’s buffy, well most of it was just pointless.
During the course of this episode we saw amy suddenly being a jerk, tempting willow with magic, buffy beating up regular people, xander eating an entire burger faster than the time it takes for buffy to say ‘it’s made out of people’, the first appearance of halfrek (who stays in demon face to set up her later surprise appearance in older and far away), and possibly the most disgusting villain ever, old-lady-phallic-monster-head.
I’m giving this episode a high 3. I was going to give it a 4 because, for season six, it’s an entertaining episode. But I’m deducting a point because of old-lady-phallic-monster-head.
Also, upon rewatching this episode, I noticed the chaos face statue from Halloween in the magic box. Has that always been there, and I just missed it?
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Dec 2, 2010 12:37:21 GMT -5
6x12 “Doublemeat Palace”
Episode Rating = 1
If “Gone” was a baby step in the right direction after some massive S6 errors, “Doublemeat Palace” was a huge step back, proving that the standalone-type episodes could now be just as badly handled as the arc pieces. In an uncharacteristically poor showing for Jane Espenson, there’s little in the way of quality humour here, with a trio of uninvolving plots and a great deal of silliness failing to improve matters. It’s almost as though this ep took the disorientation of “Living Conditions” and tried to see if its strange not-“Buffy”-ness could be outdone, and the result is an embarrassingly daft edition that isn’t worth the tape it’s filmed on.
What I Liked about “Doublemeat Palace”:
- The training video Buffy watched was amusing, as was her horrified reaction. I think it would have sufficed for the ‘dead end job’ jokes, as it was the only one I found funny.
- The episode’s observations on the bland homogeny of fast food work were accurate, and although they were conveyed poorly, the sentiments about how soul-destroying such a job could be were genuine.
- I liked the contrast between Halfrek’s vengeance demon persona and the valley girl reality when she started chatting with Anya. It was nicely humorous, and she had the right amount of girlish glee as she fussed over Anya’s engagement ring.
- Willow putting the phallic worm thing in the grinder was wonderfully gross, and I laughed at the simultaneous “ew!”-s as she and Buffy observed its minced remains spew out.
What I Disliked about “Doublemeat Palace”:
- With all of the emphasis that’s been placed on Buffy becoming a provider, it would have been good to have the subsequent plot developments make sense. Prior to this ep, we had the ludicrousness of Willow and Tara not contributing anything financially despite living in the Summers house, and now we’re supposed to believe that a job at a burger bar (most likely paying minimum wage) can cover the day-to-day expenses of three people, plus bills and a mortgage. Or are we meant to think that Buffy is still living on the money Giles gave her (which must have been a truckload, if she’s only just started looking for employment now)?
- If Buffy was going to get a job, why would she choose to work at the Palace? Sure, she says that it’s simple money with no training required, but with her high SAT scores, she could easily get a 9-to-5 temp job in an office (which wouldn’t require extensive skills either). Not only would it probably pay better, but she’d have regular hours and be free in the evenings for spending time with Dawn/patrolling/hooking up with Spike.
- The mislead with the people-burgers was the most predictable thing the episode could have done, and I don’t think I ever believed it was legitimate. Almost all of the jokes that rose from that thread were rote, and it’s problematic that the severed finger in the grinder was never given a real explanation. Considering that such an injury would have serious consequences for any business (let alone one that serves food!), I couldn’t buy that the finger was just left there, nor that Manny/the other staff wouldn’t have known that an accident had happened.
- Although the series regulars are okay, the minor characters are all badly acted. However, I have to lay the blame for this at the feet of the director. In the rush to make the Doublemeat Palace employees creepy/quirky, they were rendered over-the-top caricatures, and their behaviour makes no sense when you know what’s really going on. I’m all for a range of personalities (some of whom could be believably offbeat), but the only worker who was believable was Gary, and that’s a problem.
- Related the last point, the tone of most of the Palace scenes was way off. I can only assume that the constant, bizarre camera angles (especially on Manny’s face) and eccentric incidental music were supposed to add to its eerie atmosphere, but they were so overdone as to be irritating.
- Spike’s scenes with Buffy felt forced in, and the alleyway sex was just tacky.
- I give ‘old woman with a giant penis nestled in her head’ minor points for so-bad-it’s-good hilarity, but she was still a poor villain. Her actions were more disgusting than scary, and the prosthetic for the snake part looked fake.
- When Buffy talks about the Doublemeat secret in front of Lorraine, why doesn’t Lorraine at least try to keep a poker face? As this news leaking could destroy the corporation, why would she instantly confirm that Buffy was right, and then – even worse – proceed to tell her the specific details? Isn’t that an incredibly bad business move, when Buffy is a potentially disgruntled ex-employee who lasted less than two days at their establishment (and has no character references)?
- Story-wise, Halfrek’s introduction was unnecessary (okay, it’s relevant for “Older and Far Away”, but that episode is so poor that I fail to see this as a good thing). Her attempt at inducing marital uncertainty was a clichéd plot device, and an ultimately irrelevant one, since Anya’s feelings about the wedding aren’t the important ones in context of this story. It’s even more frustrating knowing that Xander’s perspective is in sore need of development; yet has received so little analysis.
- The time spent with Willow and Amy was a waste. Not only did it perpetuate the false concept that magic itself is fundamentally evil and corruptive, but Amy continued to act as a plot device instead of being a believable character; and the witch vs witch confrontation at the end is uninteresting when you know that its payoff is the poorly-justified vengeance spell in “The Killer in Me”. Moving away from those specifics, it’s getting very boring that such a one-note arc is eating up so much time, and that instead of using the addiction analogy briefly and then dropping it, the writers have dragged it out and insisted on looking at every available item within the metaphor. None of the embellishments are adding anything to the viewer’s understanding of the story, and this contributes to making it very unappealing on rewatches.
- When Willow is under Amy’s spell, why do some things she touches have strange things happen to them (the lamp; the pencil), but not others (her handbag; the Magic Box door)?
Do I like this episode more or less than the last time I watched it?
I’ve always thought it was a dud, and don’t feel any differently now. None of the plots in this episode work, and range from repetitive (Willow/Amy) to redundant (Anya/Halfrek) and then to ridiculous (Buffy). For an A-story, the goings-on at Doublemeat Palace are nowhere near interesting enough, and the few, scattered jokes are heavily reliant on clichéd situations and witless, stereotyped characters. Factor in the season’s typical lack of character development, a stupid monster and what feels like a total lack of episodic direction, and you have another unimpressive S6 entry. With all this in mind, I’m scoring “Doublemeat Palace” a one out of ten, though I’d still rather watch it than either of the next two editions.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 20, 2011 16:25:09 GMT -5
I was all set to comment on your review, but every point you made I agree with, and there's not much left for me to say.
Even though I agree with your analysis I'm still sticking with my high 3 rating, if only because I enjoyed the 'atmosphere' and variety of having buffy in a fast food restaurant for most of an episode, and the show kept me entertained.
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 21, 2011 13:57:25 GMT -5
Yes - most of this ep is very disorienting, and it didn't feel like "Buffy" at all. It's been there quite some time. A lot of the Magic Box goods are injokes (like that statue, and a box of 'Gellar Gems') - though that last one was something I saw in a set photograph, and not an episode itself. Mucho cool. Agreement is nice (and occasionally rare).  |
|
