Gollum's MTV Awards Acceptance Speech

[peteryoung]

For the_maenad and anyone else who's baffled, Gollum's MTV Awards Acceptance Speech (which won the Hugo in the Best Buffy Episode Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form category), can be seen as a Quicktime movie here.

Comments

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

Truffs?

Sad to say, that Gollum video did in fact beat the final episode of Buffy to the Hugo. Somehow.

[flick.livejournal.com]

Truffs = trufans = True Fans.

i think that the presence of two Firefly eps split the vote, tbh.

[fba.livejournal.com]

I wonder if we will end up with a similar situation next year - 'Smile Time' Vs 'Not Fade Away' anyone?

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Well, since I consider 'Not Fade Away' to be one of the worst final episodes of a series it's ever been my misfortune to sit though, I know how I'd vote given that choice.

[fba.livejournal.com]

There is a certain element of anti-climax to-be-sure - but it *is* an effective finale to the series. I prefer it to 'Chosen' despite the niggly problems with it.

I'd be very surprised if the last piece (quite possibly ever) of television with Joss Weadon's hand on it didn't win a Hugo.....

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

I found 'Not fade Away' tremendously anti-climactic, and lacking much in the way of proper resolution. It betrays its origins as an end-of-season episode rather than an end-of-show episode.

'Chosen', on the other hand, I thought brought genuine closure to Buffy, at the same time as reaffirming what the show had been about in the first place.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

and lacking much in the way of proper resolution

Er, that's rather the point, isn't it? It does exactly what 'Chosen' does, reaffirming what the show is about; except in the case of Angel, the show is about the idea that there's no grand plan, no big win, but you keep fighting anyway, because it's just the right thing to do.

Rehashing an argument we've had before ...

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Yes, maybe, though I'm not convinced that was the original theme of Angel (it was a show that tended to redefine its terms to get itself out of a corner). But in any case, it is possible to deliver an conclusion that is both open-ended yet still brings a sense of closure to the story. 'Not Fade Away', to my mind, singularly fails to do that.

Re: Rehashing an argument we've had before ...

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

When I look at Angel's themes, I see a rough breakdown like this:

Season One: unsure of exactly just what it's about. Seems to find its feet in the last few episodes, which lead neatly into...
Season Two: in which the central premise of the arc is 'why fight', and which leads up to the epiphany. That seems to have been such a definitive answer to the original question that the writers put it on the backburner and go off to play during ...
Seasons Three and Four: which are more about 'how to be a good person', and specifically how to be a good father, or something, and are generally less focused than season two. But then you get ...
Season Five: in which the writers return to the epiphany and have Angel question it all season long, leading up to the final episode, in which he puts the theory into practice.

I have a feeling that 'Not Fade Away', or something very like it, would have been the series finale no matter what. It feels to me like they were holding off on the epiphany as something to go back to when they were making their final statement.

It's not perfect. Technically, as 45 minutes of tv, 'Smile Time' might even be better. But something in it just feels completely right to me in a way that I don't think any other series finale, even 'Chosen', has really managed.

So it goes, I guess. :)

Aha, I hadn't seen it last time we had this argument

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

I like Not Fade Away until the last couple of minutes. Maybe Angel is about carrying on fighting the good fight no matter what. It's about showing the little people can win against the larger powers. In which case, Angel and his crew throwing everything away in one last effort to reach the senior powers feels like the wrong ending to me. Who's going to keep on fighting now?

So I prefer Chosen as a series finale. Having said that, if I'd been voting in the Hugos this year my vote would've gone to The Message. :)

Re: Aha, I hadn't seen it last time we had this argument

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

In which case, Angel and his crew throwing everything away in one last effort to reach the senior powers feels like the wrong ending to me. Who's going to keep on fighting now?

Well, quite. It's ambiguous. Yet another reason why I like it! :) Reviews linked from this post. swisstone's post from the time here.

Having said that, if I'd been voting in the Hugos this year my vote would've gone to The Message.

On this, we agree. :)

"Yeah, you know the rest."

[feorag.livejournal.com]

It won because it was hilarious and technically superb. The use of the main character was delightful, remaining true to Gollum's nature. And probably because it wasn't bloody Buffy.