Episode 17: “Becoming, Part 1” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon with Kate Caldwell

What Amy is reading - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

What Kate is reading - A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz

Amy is backed by Grammarly on the Toward vs. Towards discussion: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/commonly-confused-words/toward-towards/ 

Forms of advertising copy have been found as far back as 3000 BC, increasing in prominence with the invention of the printing press and then newspaper advertisement. Copywriting itself didn’t really become a profession until the 19th century. John Emory Powers (1837—1919) is considered the world's first full-time copywriter, as well as the “father of modern creative advertising”.

So it looks as though the “u” differences in American vs. British English come down to two lexicographers. American Noah Webster, of the Merriam-Webster dictionaries, wanted to standardize and modernize spelling, and was strongly in favor (not favour) or the “or” ending. Samuel Johnson in the UK, who wrote wrote A Dictionary of the English Language in 1775, felt that it was most likely for words of unknown origin toe be French (instead of Latin), opting for the “our” ending as it is more “pure”.

Meet this week’s guest, Kate Caldwell: I mean, you’ve met Kate a lot. Perhaps too much?

• Other FGB episodes with Kate and Amy:

  • https://www.findinggoodbones.com/episodes/episode-one-good-bones-by-maggie-smith-with-kate-caldwell

  • https://www.findinggoodbones.com/episodes/episode-five-spring-break-1899-by-murder-by-death-with-amy-winters

  • https://www.findinggoodbones.com/episodes/episode-nine-the-litany-against-fear-by-frank-herbert-with-kate-caldwell

  • https://www.findinggoodbones.com/episodes/episode-13-carpe-jugulum-by-terry-pratchett-with-amy-winters 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, an American supernatural comedy / drama television show created by Joss Whedon, premiered on ​​March 10, 1997 on The WB. The premise is that Buffy Summers, a California teen, is the latest in a long line of slayers - girls imbued with physical and mental prowess who are fated to fight the forces of evil, often vampire and other demons. But also High School, because High School is also evil. She lives in Sunnydale, CA which sits on a Hellmouth. Another one is in Cleveland. They actually sum it up really well in the short intro used in Seasons 1 & 2: “Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a Chosen One. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.” You can listen to the first version of that here: https://www.angelfire.com/darkside/hh2/sounds/slayerintro.wav 

So with the a short first season representing the end of Buffy’s sophomore year of high school set in 1997, that puts her Junior year in 1997/98 and Senior year in 1998/1999, which does line up with the years Kate was in high school.

The first voiceover in film is credited to Walt Disney for his portrayal of Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat Willie.”

While we are not a Buffy podcast, here are some actual Buffy podcasts:

• Still Pretty, by FBG Best friend and Episode 10 guest Lani Diane Rich: https://stillpretty.transistor.fm/

• Buffering the Vampire Slayer: https://www.bufferingcast.com/listen

• Slayerfest 98: https://www.slayerfest98.com/

• Prophecy Girls: https://prophecygirls.ca/ 

So, what Kate says here is actually pretty funny because in the Buffyverse, “Watchers” are a secret society of British people (okay, not necessarily ALL of them are British, but in the show they are) who watch, record the history of, and train slayers.

The behavior Kate was looking for here is catastrophic thinking.

"It does exactly what it says on the tin" is an idiomatic phrase in the UK originating from a 1994 slogan used by the woodstain and wood-dye manufacturer Ronseal on TV ads.

Immovability is indeed a word, dating back to the Middle English period, with the first known written usage by Geoffrey Chaucer. Yes, THAT Chaucer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - the 1992 movie starring Kirsty Swanson, Luke Perry, Paul Reubens, and Donald Sutherland - was written by Joss Whedon, but was significantly edited during production, to the point where Whedon severed ties. 

• As an adult, here is the scene I remember most: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfMayIzLhqw 

Nick at Nite is a block of television programming on the kids channel Nickelodeon, I guess for the parents? It used to be sitcoms from the 1950s - 1970s. This was in the 1990s. Apparently now it’s shows from th 1990s - 2010s which feels quite rude.

In September of 2003, Buffy was on from 4pm - 6pm on FX : https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-78728.html#google_vignette 

Miss the dulcet tones of good, old fashioned dial up? Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDS4B0mM-ew 

The Body is episode 16 of Season Five of Buffy. Dealing with the sudden and shocking death of Buffy’s mother Joyce by cerebral aneurysm, it’s often cited as one of the most devastating episodes of television ever created.

Kate found her dad on October 8, 2003 after he’d been missing for a little over a month. He died April 10, 2021. So yeah, that’s about 18 years. Kate had to use a calculator to put that together, but her dad would have been able to instantaneously figure it out in his head.

“Becoming (Part 2”) was the Season Two finale and aired at May 19, 1998 at *pm ET / 7pm CT.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Collection - a 40 disc set with all the seasons retailed between $150.00 - $199.99 when it was released in 2005. So like, good job, Amy’s brother!!!

At the end of Becoming (Part 2) after Buffy has killed Angel, we see her leave town. When Season 3 picks up with the first episode Anne, Buffy is working in a diner in L.A.

So perhaps unsurprisingly, French Doors did not actually originate in France, but were popularized there during the Renaissance.

The 512 area code was one of the first ones established in Texas, in 1947. It originally covered most of south and central Texas, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rio Grande, including San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen.

There has been a lot written about how Joss Whedon harmed the people he worked (and lived) with, and his inappropriate activities on set. Here are a few of those pieces:

• https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/

• https://www.vulture.com/article/joss-whedon-allegations.html

• https://www.slashfilm.com/1678802/marvel-kevin-feige-the-avengers-director-joss-whedon-mcu-ban/

• https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-cast-joss-whedon-allegations-1234708358/

• https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/complete-timeline-joss-whedon-allegations.html

• https://variety.com/2022/tv/columns/joss-whedon-allegations-buffy-legacy-1235157632/ 

Request a recommendation on a selection of writing picked by Kate and Amy just for you: https://www.findinggoodbones.com/contact

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