Ok. We’re almost to the halfway point. One more review and we leave Buffy-ville, so hold on.
Once again same as the first, with the exception of the few comics extolling the beauties of lesbian relationships in Buffy I have about as much interest in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and it’s spinoff Angel, as well as the rumored but never quite confirmed UK spinoff concerning Buffy character Giles) as I do in finding out who’ll be the next… uh… Rock Star : INXS? The Cut? The Apprentice? Average Joe… Uh… in watching the 101 “Reality” TV and Music Competition shows presently on TV now. Yeah. That. But once again thankfully a family relation of mine does not feel the same way, and it is once again thanks to that person that I can bring you another pointless Buffy toy reviews… because somebody has to.

[image2]This week, continuing our Buffy the Vampire Slayer toy reviews, it’s a review of Giles (who was supposed to have some sort of UK spin-off) and OZ (he who is not the Wizard you are looking for) from Season 2... Or (again) so I’ve been told. Once again you know the drill. These figures sold like hotcakes smothered in smack when they hit, and all those many many Buffy fans (somewhere out there) were buying them up like crazy.
Nowadays? Do they even do Buffy/Angel toys anymore since the series sputtered and gasped to it’s conclusions? Does anyone know this answer? Anyone?

Yes, blah blah Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie blah blah Spike blah blah gang from Buffy blah blah.
You know the drill. Joss Whedon is laying hints that he’s doing a movie, and I suppose a movie might be in the works… somehow, somewhere, somewhen. When it’ll come is another thing but it’ll be around eventually… if they film it, it’ll come. Of course Joss Whedon hinted at a Fray ongoing series (his Batman Beyond style future Vampire Slayer character published through Dark Horse) and that hasn’t seemed to materialize, so take the movie rumors with a grain of salt until the first trailers show and a firm release date is confirmed. Anyway if, and when, the movie finally hits I guess there’ll be a revival of figure interest.

But (once again) we’re not here to speak of the revival of the Buffy franchise with a new movie (yes, I know, I keep bringing it up), we’re here to talk about the action figures of the early 21st Century. And this time that’d be the figure of the characters who are minor players… except for the first, whose supposed to be the star of his own spin-off that nobody seems to talk about.

Giles. Buffy’s “Watcher” who was supposed to have his own UK spin-off… did he? I never heard of it past the rumors of one supposidly existing. I guess not since nobody talks about it.
Giles is sporting a rather conservative look, like a refined upper class gentlemen… who hacks apart the undead and reads books on the undead… oooh, Miss Demonic Entity 2000 Swimsuit Edition. Sporting your standard gear for your standard genius/monster killer we have a BOOK, the better to research monster with. We have a cross, better to ward off vampires with. We also have an ax (better to decapitate vampires with), a huge bag (better to hold your gear in) and two stakes (better to lose in the carpeting for that always so fun incident of foot impalement). Oh, and this time instead of a gravestone to go along with his base, he has a stone pedestal with a book on it which proclaims the wonders of living on the Hellmouth and finding devils and ghouls to fight… then using the old “glass half full” cliché. Oh, and he sports the standard rhythm and roll of 15 POAs.

[image3]Next we have Oz, the non-Wizard of… well… Oz. He who turns into a werewolf on full moons, and takes flea medicine every 15th of the month like clockwork.
Oz is a guitarist looking for a band, and comes complete with -- well, it’s jeans and a shirt with a weird baby on it… nuff said. He’s got himself a pair of crossbows (no removable bolts thankfully) and two more of those injury inducing hazards to carpets, aka wooden stakes. And, in a move that SHOULD have been done for Spike, he has removable hands (and a pair of extra hands). Why? Cause he also sports a guitar and a amp for playing the next gig at the local cemetery. As for what Oz likes on his tombstone? Chains. Lots of chains, so he can be tied up bondage style… which doesn’t make sense since you’ll need another figure altogether for the werewolf thing… two actually.
I know there’s a werewolf variant, but I heard there’s a “transformable” figure variant with snap-on werewolf body parts to make the figure “transform” or something like that. Oh, well.
And of course he also sports the standard 15 POAs.

Yeah. And that, as they say, is that. I can’t think of much else to say about figures based on one secondary character, and one secondary character who went away and stopped being even as important as a secondary character… then went on to do movies like Rat Race, and other things that won’t be winning him an Academy Award anytime in his lifetime. Sheesh. Okay. That’s that. I’m out of thoughtful things to say so I think we can wrap this up just fine on the breakdown… so let’s break it down now.

Giles/Oz 2000 figures Breakdown
What’s Hot?
Ok. Yes. Once again if you ARE a Buffy fan (born again, born late, or planning that all Buffy female action figure orgy flash movie for the internet) then you might be buying the figures… unless you’re just Willow/Tara fans then these are not the figures your looking for.
Yeah. It’s not the main characters, and it’s not even the money characters (those that have big fan bases) however they do have some fans, and if you are striving for a complete collection you might be checking these out… probably. Anyway it’s better than justifying expending money for two of the same figure (Spike) so I guess that’s something.

What’s Not?
Let’s see… one guy’s a character who was supposed to have a UK Buffy spin-off, but seemingly never got that (or nobody talks about it), and the other? Think of a list of 10 of the most embarrassing movies you can think of from recent release the past five or so years and odds are he’s been in at least 1-3 of them. Somehow that doesn’t seem like motivation to go out of someone’s way to buy these, short of completing a collection. Nuff said.

Moments to Remember?
Once again I sought cheerful moments from the figures, and came up with more insults than cheer.
So I stopped myself from digging up Seth Green’s movie career for a comprehensive look at all his movies… just so I won’t bring up anymore like Rat Race.

What to Ignore?
That’d be too easy… so ignore me again. Thanks.

Overall?
If you want it, you’ll buy it. If not you’ll point at the Oz figure and remember the last movie you saw with him in it… for one reason or another… and that’s that.

Next Week
Next time we come to the close of the Buffy reviews! Yes, it’s over. The last of the 2000 era Buffy figure reviews is next, followed by a set of Angel reviews… cause somebody had to make figures from that series.

Next Week
Cordelia - She who moved to Angel, then fell into a coma, now needs work again.
Xander - He who -- well -- he’s here. Just look at the figure and forget… something.

Two Weeks
Another week of Cordelia figures. This time her standard figure, and her ultra rare slavegirl figure… no, it’s not as titillating as it sounds so fuhgeddaboutit.

Three Weeks
The start of two weeks of needless variants. Starting with two Faith figures… yeah, her.
That’s all in the next three weeks so stay tuned.