WinxTalk Podcast #19
Aug. 24th, 2007 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsThis week, "Little Big Shots", "The Golden Kingdom", and an editorial. 5.7 MB, 24 min.
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Transcript
This week, the pixies get their day in the spotlight, and the fairies take on Bloom, but not for the reasons you might think. Plus, the return of Ophir, news from the Winx world, and a special editorial, on WinxTalk Podcast #19 with your host SpiderBraids.
First up, "Little Big Shots". Today, Baltor has just taken more spells, this time, from Light Rock. So the Winx, plus some of the minor background fairies, are heading out on a mission to find Baltor. As has been the usual for this season, the pixies aren't coming.
(Tecna tells off Digit when she asks to go on the mission with her, and same with Musa to Tune.)
But instead of showing the fairies' mission, we're focusing on the pixies vs. the Trix this week. No, seriously. The little pixies taking on the witches.
The Trix are talking about their whole dealie with Baltor. For those of you who just came in, Baltor has promised that he'll share his powers with one of the witches. Well, the Trix are talking about this whole dealie...
(The Trix have a nice long talk about how Baltor's going to share his powers with one of them. Some tidbits: "Guys have egos, and like to be flattered more than girls." "Let me have them. That's the only peaceful solution I can think of.")
Anyways, Stormy has an idea: since the pixies have lots of spells, why not look for their village, moved since Icy stole their Codex, and steal them from there? After overhearing this, Zing, AKA the pixie of cosplay, decides to send Livy to Alfea for reinforcements. Here's the reason:
(Zing tells Livy that all the pixies are at the harvest festival.)
(BZZ)
(Livy screws up the message because she just rammed herself into Alfea's protective barrier, so she has to read from her paper backup. Digit: "We've got ourselves a mission!")
So the witches are searching... searching... and searching. Somewhere in there, Darcy and Stormy have a little talk.
("Earlier, you didn't think that I was trying to double-cross you or anything, DID YOU?" "Hey, it's a competition. I wouldn't respect you if you weren't a little bit devious. So don't be upset if I am." "Hmm...")
Okay, so later the Alfea pixies take on the Trix. WHEEE!
(Fighting, and more fighting. Eventually, Darcy gets fed up with their teensy-weensy size and makes them big. In a rare mistake by Darcy, they end up TOO big.)
Eventually, Amore makes quite a tempting offer to the Trix...
(Amore sees a powerful man in the Trix's lives, and he's undecided. Icy ends up fighting Amore over a bag of pixie dust. Baltor comes on to the scene and decides to put an end to all the mayhem, while Darcy and Stormy get squished by Digit's big size. Baltor tells Icy that it's humiliating for those two to be defeated by pixies.)
You said it, Baltor. And thus the pixies were successful in fighting evil this week, while back at Alfea, we find that that's more than can be said of the Winx girls' Light Rock outing.
(Bloom notes that Kiko is missing, while Musa mentions, again, that they couldn't find Baltor either. They overhear a celebration for the pixies, and it turns out that the pixies saw Baltor and fought him off. FG gives a citation of valor to the pixies, and a special medal for Digit)
So for once, the pixies get their day in the spotlight. COOL!
Before I head into Lori's review, I should note that during last season's hiatus, Freedom Fighter predicted that we would get a pixie-centric episode. So Freedom Fighter, I give you a pat on the back.
(BZZ)
I enjoyed this episode much more than the past two. Sure, it was pure fun with no major plot and likely only exists because Rainbow wants to back their excessive overseas pixie merchandising, but it also lacked the horrid instances of bad writing in the past two eps.
It was cool to see the pixies take on the witches and prove to the Winx that they're not little nothings, which is definitely how they were being treated in this episode and this entire season. It was also nice to have a break from the Winx girls. Sometimes they do get tiresome.
I'm still rather annoyed by the bumbling Trix we've seen in seasons 2 and 3, but at least their bumbling in this episode is because of their feelings for Baltor, which interest me. Are any of them really capable of the love Amore detected or was what she keyed in on the pure love for the power the chosen witch would receive? Baltor's original move to play the witches against each other is starting to backfire on him. It's no longer entertaining and now a threat to the mission, so maybe he'll finally call off this silly contest and give all three some added power. I'm hoping we see at least a brief return of the Season 1 level Trix instead of the stereotypical ineffective villains they've become. They still have moments of greatness and they're still my faves, but I want them back to full strength.
(BZZ)
After the news, the other fairies take on Bloom, but it's not what you think. For that matter, it's not what the 4K promos made you think.
(News sting)
And now, news from the Winx world. We'll be a bit quick this week.
In ratings news, Cynopsis reports that Winx scored a 0.6 and 6 rating on August 4th when Biker Chick Wedding Crashers aired. It won its timeslot, beating Loonatics Unleashed on the CW and its 0.5 and 4 share. The following week, Little Big Shots, earned a 0.5 and 4 rating, and tied Loonatics Unleashed for the top spot.
Michael Grant reports that in the UK, Winx season 3 has started its airings of the 4K dub, but instead of the usual CITV and GMTV airings, it's airing on an obscure cable channel, Popgirl, on Sky Channel 629. And they're airing it out of order to boot.
And that's news from the Winx world.
(End news sting)
Now, on to "The Golden Kingdom". The Winx girls take on Bloom, but she hasn't turned evil again like when the fake Avalon was around last year...
(Bloom defeats Stella's anti-sunshine spells, then Musa's sound cage, and explains to Lockette that they're looking for ways to defeat the Dragonfire because Baltor has the same power, as Flora gets ready for her go.)
And now, an aside with Layla.
(Layla talks to her mom about the whole arranged marriage with Nabu deal. "When the time comes, I'M going to pick who I marry. And it's gonna be for love and passion and..." She gets cut off with Tecna telling her that she's found a way to defeat the Dragonfire)
Well, a way to defeat the Dragonfire. This sounds interesting.
(Tecna talks about the Water Stars: Another power, an opposite, was formed when the great Dragon was born, and it was contained in Water Stars. They don't exist in their current dimension since a bunch of wizards sealed them away in another dimension, the titular Golden Kingdom. There's a portal to this dimension via the base of the Red Tower.)
Okay, roadtrip! Naturally the boys are coming along for the ride, but turns out Ophir's also on board. This doesn't make anyone happy, because he's why Baltor has his box in the first place. In fact, Layla decides to put him in a cell... but somehow, she ends up locked up with him as well. Awkward, much?
(Layla gives Timmy the order to put up some cell barrier. She ends up on the same side of the barrier as Naboo tho: "You have got to be kidding me!" Nabu decides to talk about music with Layla. Turns out they both have the same favorite song [although Nabu mis-remembers the lyrics], and Nabu mentions that it has a great line: "Nobody makes decisions for me but me!" Layla suspects that he might be putting a charm spell on her.)
Meanwhile, Flora has made a small video message for Helia. Here's what Helia and Riven think of it.
(Helia receives Flora's video. Riven sees Musa with some other guy. Helia: "Uh oh.")
So, Riven sees Musa with another guy in the video, so he's heading out to give Ophir his two cents. Meanwhile, we get to see some nifty powers in action...
(Layla won't unlock Ophir's shackles. A monster picks up Layla. Ophir unshackles himself, and attacks the monster.)
(BZZ)
(Stella attacks a monster carrying Musa with her Enchantix Sunbeam.)
(BZZ)
(Flora attacks a monster with a "return to nature" spell)
(BZZ)
(In light of Ophir unshackling himself, he asks Layla to reshackle him: "Your friends have more important things to worry about than whether or not they can trust me.")
But the last thing we see this week is Riven finding Ophir carrying an injured Musa, and he's not too pleased with him. OOH! This could get nasty, and not in a good way, either.
Lori reviews.
(BZZ)
Not bad. Not bad at all. I mean, not perfect by any means, but no incredible glaring errors or too easily written off supporting characters.
It's nice to see Layla back in good form. I loved her at the beginning of Season 2 and this is definitely reminiscent of that. It's also interesting to watch her deal with her conflicting feelings about Ophir. The music scene was a bit too much, mainly because what kind of person forgets the lyrics to their so-called favorite song? But when Ophir isn't trying too hard, he's a pretty neat character. I like that he's a magic user and not just another Specialist. I had hopes for Helia being like that.
Speaking of Helia, I liked him in this episode. Shocking, I know.
The fights scenes were pretty cool, showcasing some interesting new powers. I liked Flora's "return to nature" a lot, though I felt the pixies tying up the eyes was a bit too silly and not necessary.
Looks like the pixies are gone so now they've finally got an excuse to not do anything. I rather wish they'd done this at the beginning of the season, so it wouldn't look so much like they'd been forgotten. They could have had the witch fight nearer to the Pixie Village after all.
(BZZ)
Last week, Lori was disgusted at the messy resolution to the whole Cassandra and Chimera situation. In a special editorial, Lori discusses how SHE would have handled it.
(BZZ)
I originally wanted Cassandra to be genuinely in love with Radius (so Stella would have to deal with him eventually remarrying) and Chimera was the more negative force. But then I liked the idea of Chimera being the better one. So it would go like this:
Cassandra leaves Chimera behind and takes Radius with her when they flee Sky's dragon-filled party. After all, she needs Radius to rule Solaria. She wouldn't be qualified unless they were married, which they weren't yet. So she should have left Chimera, who's disposable. Stella would have gained her Enchantix by rescuing Chimera and that would have led to an uneasy truce. Chimera would be freed from Baltor's influence by fairy dust and would lend her powers when necessary, including an eventual overthrow of her mother. We'd definitely see her fairy form, too!
I never understood why Cassandra took Chimera and not Radius, since Radius was her meal ticket. Sure, Cass loves her daughter, but she seems the type that would love ruling Solaria more. I guess it made her look not entirely evil, but still. It wasn't enough to make her better in any real way.
I would have also thrown Stella's mother in there somewhere. Stella's exiled from her home and she doesn't cry (or at least complain) to her mom?
And both Diaspro and Chimera would take part in the final battle against Baltor, thus proving that not all "bad girls" are truly bad. Diaspro could save Sky and get her Enchantix. Maybe Chimera could return Stella's favor and get hers, too. That'd be funny! Although I'd have that happen earlier than in the final battle. Diaspro's could be there, but Chimera's could be when they overthrew Cassandra. There'd be an easy opportunity for her to save Stella there. Or Chimera could even save her mom. Either way works. Ooo, or Cassandra could see Chimera sacrificing herself to save Stella and something would click in her and she'd revolt against Baltor and get healed by fairy dust, etc. etc.
There are countless better ways this could have been done. I came up with all of that in five minutes. Why couldn't the writers do the same?
(BZZ)
Next week, Riven's about to teach Ophir a lesson. Oh, and there's also a thing about a maze and those Water Stars they're after.
For now though, that's it for this edition. Comments and suggestion may be left at my blog, spiderbraids.livejournal.com , or at the Forever_Winx group at Yahoo: groups.yahoo.com/group/forever_winx. We'll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe with this feed.
Transcript
This week, the pixies get their day in the spotlight, and the fairies take on Bloom, but not for the reasons you might think. Plus, the return of Ophir, news from the Winx world, and a special editorial, on WinxTalk Podcast #19 with your host SpiderBraids.
First up, "Little Big Shots". Today, Baltor has just taken more spells, this time, from Light Rock. So the Winx, plus some of the minor background fairies, are heading out on a mission to find Baltor. As has been the usual for this season, the pixies aren't coming.
(Tecna tells off Digit when she asks to go on the mission with her, and same with Musa to Tune.)
But instead of showing the fairies' mission, we're focusing on the pixies vs. the Trix this week. No, seriously. The little pixies taking on the witches.
The Trix are talking about their whole dealie with Baltor. For those of you who just came in, Baltor has promised that he'll share his powers with one of the witches. Well, the Trix are talking about this whole dealie...
(The Trix have a nice long talk about how Baltor's going to share his powers with one of them. Some tidbits: "Guys have egos, and like to be flattered more than girls." "Let me have them. That's the only peaceful solution I can think of.")
Anyways, Stormy has an idea: since the pixies have lots of spells, why not look for their village, moved since Icy stole their Codex, and steal them from there? After overhearing this, Zing, AKA the pixie of cosplay, decides to send Livy to Alfea for reinforcements. Here's the reason:
(Zing tells Livy that all the pixies are at the harvest festival.)
(BZZ)
(Livy screws up the message because she just rammed herself into Alfea's protective barrier, so she has to read from her paper backup. Digit: "We've got ourselves a mission!")
So the witches are searching... searching... and searching. Somewhere in there, Darcy and Stormy have a little talk.
("Earlier, you didn't think that I was trying to double-cross you or anything, DID YOU?" "Hey, it's a competition. I wouldn't respect you if you weren't a little bit devious. So don't be upset if I am." "Hmm...")
Okay, so later the Alfea pixies take on the Trix. WHEEE!
(Fighting, and more fighting. Eventually, Darcy gets fed up with their teensy-weensy size and makes them big. In a rare mistake by Darcy, they end up TOO big.)
Eventually, Amore makes quite a tempting offer to the Trix...
(Amore sees a powerful man in the Trix's lives, and he's undecided. Icy ends up fighting Amore over a bag of pixie dust. Baltor comes on to the scene and decides to put an end to all the mayhem, while Darcy and Stormy get squished by Digit's big size. Baltor tells Icy that it's humiliating for those two to be defeated by pixies.)
You said it, Baltor. And thus the pixies were successful in fighting evil this week, while back at Alfea, we find that that's more than can be said of the Winx girls' Light Rock outing.
(Bloom notes that Kiko is missing, while Musa mentions, again, that they couldn't find Baltor either. They overhear a celebration for the pixies, and it turns out that the pixies saw Baltor and fought him off. FG gives a citation of valor to the pixies, and a special medal for Digit)
So for once, the pixies get their day in the spotlight. COOL!
Before I head into Lori's review, I should note that during last season's hiatus, Freedom Fighter predicted that we would get a pixie-centric episode. So Freedom Fighter, I give you a pat on the back.
(BZZ)
I enjoyed this episode much more than the past two. Sure, it was pure fun with no major plot and likely only exists because Rainbow wants to back their excessive overseas pixie merchandising, but it also lacked the horrid instances of bad writing in the past two eps.
It was cool to see the pixies take on the witches and prove to the Winx that they're not little nothings, which is definitely how they were being treated in this episode and this entire season. It was also nice to have a break from the Winx girls. Sometimes they do get tiresome.
I'm still rather annoyed by the bumbling Trix we've seen in seasons 2 and 3, but at least their bumbling in this episode is because of their feelings for Baltor, which interest me. Are any of them really capable of the love Amore detected or was what she keyed in on the pure love for the power the chosen witch would receive? Baltor's original move to play the witches against each other is starting to backfire on him. It's no longer entertaining and now a threat to the mission, so maybe he'll finally call off this silly contest and give all three some added power. I'm hoping we see at least a brief return of the Season 1 level Trix instead of the stereotypical ineffective villains they've become. They still have moments of greatness and they're still my faves, but I want them back to full strength.
(BZZ)
After the news, the other fairies take on Bloom, but it's not what you think. For that matter, it's not what the 4K promos made you think.
(News sting)
And now, news from the Winx world. We'll be a bit quick this week.
In ratings news, Cynopsis reports that Winx scored a 0.6 and 6 rating on August 4th when Biker Chick Wedding Crashers aired. It won its timeslot, beating Loonatics Unleashed on the CW and its 0.5 and 4 share. The following week, Little Big Shots, earned a 0.5 and 4 rating, and tied Loonatics Unleashed for the top spot.
Michael Grant reports that in the UK, Winx season 3 has started its airings of the 4K dub, but instead of the usual CITV and GMTV airings, it's airing on an obscure cable channel, Popgirl, on Sky Channel 629. And they're airing it out of order to boot.
And that's news from the Winx world.
(End news sting)
Now, on to "The Golden Kingdom". The Winx girls take on Bloom, but she hasn't turned evil again like when the fake Avalon was around last year...
(Bloom defeats Stella's anti-sunshine spells, then Musa's sound cage, and explains to Lockette that they're looking for ways to defeat the Dragonfire because Baltor has the same power, as Flora gets ready for her go.)
And now, an aside with Layla.
(Layla talks to her mom about the whole arranged marriage with Nabu deal. "When the time comes, I'M going to pick who I marry. And it's gonna be for love and passion and..." She gets cut off with Tecna telling her that she's found a way to defeat the Dragonfire)
Well, a way to defeat the Dragonfire. This sounds interesting.
(Tecna talks about the Water Stars: Another power, an opposite, was formed when the great Dragon was born, and it was contained in Water Stars. They don't exist in their current dimension since a bunch of wizards sealed them away in another dimension, the titular Golden Kingdom. There's a portal to this dimension via the base of the Red Tower.)
Okay, roadtrip! Naturally the boys are coming along for the ride, but turns out Ophir's also on board. This doesn't make anyone happy, because he's why Baltor has his box in the first place. In fact, Layla decides to put him in a cell... but somehow, she ends up locked up with him as well. Awkward, much?
(Layla gives Timmy the order to put up some cell barrier. She ends up on the same side of the barrier as Naboo tho: "You have got to be kidding me!" Nabu decides to talk about music with Layla. Turns out they both have the same favorite song [although Nabu mis-remembers the lyrics], and Nabu mentions that it has a great line: "Nobody makes decisions for me but me!" Layla suspects that he might be putting a charm spell on her.)
Meanwhile, Flora has made a small video message for Helia. Here's what Helia and Riven think of it.
(Helia receives Flora's video. Riven sees Musa with some other guy. Helia: "Uh oh.")
So, Riven sees Musa with another guy in the video, so he's heading out to give Ophir his two cents. Meanwhile, we get to see some nifty powers in action...
(Layla won't unlock Ophir's shackles. A monster picks up Layla. Ophir unshackles himself, and attacks the monster.)
(BZZ)
(Stella attacks a monster carrying Musa with her Enchantix Sunbeam.)
(BZZ)
(Flora attacks a monster with a "return to nature" spell)
(BZZ)
(In light of Ophir unshackling himself, he asks Layla to reshackle him: "Your friends have more important things to worry about than whether or not they can trust me.")
But the last thing we see this week is Riven finding Ophir carrying an injured Musa, and he's not too pleased with him. OOH! This could get nasty, and not in a good way, either.
Lori reviews.
(BZZ)
Not bad. Not bad at all. I mean, not perfect by any means, but no incredible glaring errors or too easily written off supporting characters.
It's nice to see Layla back in good form. I loved her at the beginning of Season 2 and this is definitely reminiscent of that. It's also interesting to watch her deal with her conflicting feelings about Ophir. The music scene was a bit too much, mainly because what kind of person forgets the lyrics to their so-called favorite song? But when Ophir isn't trying too hard, he's a pretty neat character. I like that he's a magic user and not just another Specialist. I had hopes for Helia being like that.
Speaking of Helia, I liked him in this episode. Shocking, I know.
The fights scenes were pretty cool, showcasing some interesting new powers. I liked Flora's "return to nature" a lot, though I felt the pixies tying up the eyes was a bit too silly and not necessary.
Looks like the pixies are gone so now they've finally got an excuse to not do anything. I rather wish they'd done this at the beginning of the season, so it wouldn't look so much like they'd been forgotten. They could have had the witch fight nearer to the Pixie Village after all.
(BZZ)
Last week, Lori was disgusted at the messy resolution to the whole Cassandra and Chimera situation. In a special editorial, Lori discusses how SHE would have handled it.
(BZZ)
I originally wanted Cassandra to be genuinely in love with Radius (so Stella would have to deal with him eventually remarrying) and Chimera was the more negative force. But then I liked the idea of Chimera being the better one. So it would go like this:
Cassandra leaves Chimera behind and takes Radius with her when they flee Sky's dragon-filled party. After all, she needs Radius to rule Solaria. She wouldn't be qualified unless they were married, which they weren't yet. So she should have left Chimera, who's disposable. Stella would have gained her Enchantix by rescuing Chimera and that would have led to an uneasy truce. Chimera would be freed from Baltor's influence by fairy dust and would lend her powers when necessary, including an eventual overthrow of her mother. We'd definitely see her fairy form, too!
I never understood why Cassandra took Chimera and not Radius, since Radius was her meal ticket. Sure, Cass loves her daughter, but she seems the type that would love ruling Solaria more. I guess it made her look not entirely evil, but still. It wasn't enough to make her better in any real way.
I would have also thrown Stella's mother in there somewhere. Stella's exiled from her home and she doesn't cry (or at least complain) to her mom?
And both Diaspro and Chimera would take part in the final battle against Baltor, thus proving that not all "bad girls" are truly bad. Diaspro could save Sky and get her Enchantix. Maybe Chimera could return Stella's favor and get hers, too. That'd be funny! Although I'd have that happen earlier than in the final battle. Diaspro's could be there, but Chimera's could be when they overthrew Cassandra. There'd be an easy opportunity for her to save Stella there. Or Chimera could even save her mom. Either way works. Ooo, or Cassandra could see Chimera sacrificing herself to save Stella and something would click in her and she'd revolt against Baltor and get healed by fairy dust, etc. etc.
There are countless better ways this could have been done. I came up with all of that in five minutes. Why couldn't the writers do the same?
(BZZ)
Next week, Riven's about to teach Ophir a lesson. Oh, and there's also a thing about a maze and those Water Stars they're after.
For now though, that's it for this edition. Comments and suggestion may be left at my blog, spiderbraids.livejournal.com , or at the Forever_Winx group at Yahoo: groups.yahoo.com/group/forever_winx. We'll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening.
