Thread 16 - TalkLair: "Well, I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish-yet-affordable boots, but there's definitely something unnatural going on here."

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 15).

Another year over, a new one just begun...

In the TalkLair, the hearth is glowing, the walls festooned with tinsel, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors, the tree is twinkling with fairy lights (and possibly being clambered on by cats). The denizens of the lair are a welcoming bunch though, always eager for general chit-chat on all manner of topics.

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey Christmas roast beast over there in the corner of the cave…

Early Grey's is great. I still watch for nostalgia value, and it occasionally has a moment, but it's mostly been shit for years.

Definitely get the DDs into Firefly. Not so sure about Dollhouse- bit near the knuckle. Good for discussions, but I found it a very uncomfortable watch.

Can I ask what this thread is actually for, I was lured in by the Buffy quote 😂

It's a general chat thread. We started as a group chucked off another site, but are very happy to meet more people. Buffy fans especially welcome.

@claudiawinklemansfringetrimmer come in and chat Buffy with us!

Upon recent rewatching with DDs, I am thinking that Season 2 was the best. Opinions?

One of these days I'll watch Buffy. My soothing-dementia fare would be Star Trek, if I can only have one iteration then Deep Space Nine.

Season 2 I agree is the best overall. Although S3 has Band Candy, and the 2 evil Willow episodes.

There are good patches in all of them, which is handy, even when enduring the worst of Dawn.

Last night we, along with DS1, went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens "Gardens Aglow" event, where they light up a large chunk of the gardens with Christmas lights looking like flowers and animals (moose!) and even a lighthouse. It was so pretty - freezing cold with temperatures around 27F, which I think is about -2 or so in C, but we wrapped up warmly - and we all really enjoyed it.

PoppySeedBagelRedux · Yesterday 13:51

We watched the Wedding from S1 of Outnumbered last night - gosh it was funny.

Kicks up the arse have a long and venerable history in comedy, going back to Ancient Greece.

We began Motherland last night, she was a bit cool on the first one, but asked to see the second, then the third. She's hooked!

I was at the supermarket earlier and waited as a knackered Smart Car reversed out of a space to face me, on my side. There was an old guy, who seemed to be a refugee from a Mac cartoon driving and he drove right up to my bumper, then scowled.

Even if I'd had wanted to reverse, there was a car behind me. After a bit of angry gesticulation, indicating that I should go back, he eventually reversed and went by, stopping at my window.

He wound his down, I followed suit and he shouted, "Stupid bastard!" before leaving.

Oh I had one of those idiots - though a younger female version - the other day. I'd been to get petrol at Costco, and was looking for a parking space. Straight ahead of me I saw a car reversing out of the last space in the lane so I drove towards it. He was rather slow turning right out of the lane because a large SUV was waiting to turn into the lane, but I could easily drive into the space, so I did. As I parked, I saw the woman in the SUV angrily gesturing to me and then she rolled down her window and said that was her space, she had been signalling, and I was not 'ladylike' and should have left it for her. I told her in a fairly unladylike manner that firstly, I hadn't seen her, secondly I wasn't a mind-reader, and thirdly there were actually a lot of other spaces available and she should go f.f.find one. She proceeded to park across the back of my car and inform me that I might wait a while to leave. I very visibly took a picture of her and her vehicle, including the number plate, and told her that if any harm befell my car in my absence, I would be offering the police a likely suspect. According to my DS1, who was with me and stayed outside to smoke a cigarette for a bit, she sat there about ten minutes before evidently realising that nobody does a ten minute stay in Costco and thinking better of it. Presumably she parked in one of the several spaces clearly visible from where I was parked.

Parking was slightly crazy in our small town this morning - the council had made the carparks free for December, which is good for trade but slightly nerve wracking when you need a space. However, got one eventually, toddled round the town centre, then went to Lidl where I got the perfect spot and was in and out and home by just after 11.

I've been very discouraged of putting up my Christmas tree because it is a bit too big to handle comfortably, but suddenly realised I can leave out the lowest of its three tiers and get the perfect five foot tree! Since I put it on a table anyway it will seem plenty big enough and I'll be able to decorate it without climbing ladders. Just need to find the sparkly cloth for under it, the lights for on it, the decorations . . .

Those lights look great, @Britinme ! We're going to see the RHS Wisley display after Christmas - I've never been, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Britinme · Today 15:30

Oh dear! Shops and car parks do seem to bring out the worst in some people!

Just popping my head round the door, lured in also by the Buffy quote, to say that if you miss out Season 6, you’ll miss the musical episode!

’They got the mustard OUT!’

Seldom been so devastated by the discovery of an idol’s feet of clay as I was when all the news came out about Joss. He was meant to be one of the good ones, godammit!

There are definitely good episodes in Seasons 3-6, but not with the regular consistency of Season 2 IMO. For example Season 4 Hush is brilliant, as is Season 6 Once More With Feeling.

On reflection maybe I dislike Season 4 onwards because of the introduction of Riley, the utter galumphing arse.

That's possibly my favourite line from Once More With Feeling.

Season 5, of course, has The Body - astoundingly well done.

Riley I could happily do without entirely.

In other news, yesterday DDs helped me with the baking and assembly of our annual gingerbread house. I love how it makes the house smell so wonderful!

And today being the winter solstice, we celebrated by making the traditional sticky glutinous rice balls in syrup (tāngyuán 汤圆 in Mandarin). I like to serve them with lychees because to be honest, they’re kind of boring on their own.

That's some splendid festive prep, kuc! So far I haven't done anything except tree up, and make a vague plan to go food shopping on Monday after baby weasel's boyfriend goes home. We both agreed it would be a good idea to schedule our food purchase so we had nice stuff without a wild surplus that I eat my way through like a greedy bastard, but so far this is a hazy notion which lacks specifics.

The Body screened a couple of years after my mother died (she was rather more difficult than Joyce). I thought it was an amazing episode and captured a few things you don't usually see depicted. I wept the house down and still do if I rewatch.

Thank you!

I agree about season 2, although I think season 3 gives it a very close run and the Mayor is probably my favourite Big Bad.

Oddly s4 has some of the very best standalone episodes but the worst overall arc.

My DD is only 6 so it’ll be a while until I can show her unfortunately. I think I started watching when I was about 10 which in hindsight was probably a bit young

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross I was also gutted re: Joss. Honestly is there nobody left in Hollywood to like?!

Agree with The Body being an amazing, agonisingly raw and heartbreaking yet brilliant episode.

Were there any standout episodes in the direness that was Season 7?

Kucinghitam · Today 19:32

We've got the remains of a 2 kg box of lychees. I've had the grand total of two.

That's a lot of lychees. Are the rice balls anything like mochi?

Season 7 had moments, rather than whole good episodes, I think. The one with the love-spell jacket wasn't bad, and the flashbacks to Robin's mother as the Slayer. And I quite liked mad, ensouled Spike. But the overall arc of that season was just too far beyond the shark.

I think they differ slightly from proper Japanese mochi (IIRC for those, the glutinous rice dough has to be pounded for hours or something like that) but basically they're the same thing in texture and flavour. I gather that some Chinese regions make their tāngyuán stuffed with sesame paste etc which would make them very like mochi. In my Malaysian childhood they were just plain little coloured balls, rolling them was always a fun job for little hands, served in a simple pandas-infused syrup.

@SinnerBoy I love lychees and longans!

I'm not much of a series-watcher, so most of this chat goes right over my head. I haven't even started The Mirror and the Light yet, even though I want to see it. And I think the last thing I watched all the way through was The Sopranos. I'm one of those "the pictures are better on the page/radio" weirdos.

@Kucinghitam - I'm slowly coming to terms with the iPhone SE - it's certainly very pretty and exactly the right size, though much of the content is wasted on me. I did have a tantrum at it the other day, when it ceased to ring or buzz for calls/texts. I was about to march it round to either an over-indulged 18-year-old or a shop when MrG found a wondrous YouTube troubleshooting video which, right at the start, pointed out where the "silent" button was. Gawd knows how it got pressed, but it definitely works!

And now I want lychees, you bastards!