I liked it, (he says, having finally watched it a week after the fact), but then, I was in the mood for goofiness.
Something KB touched on way up above that I liked -- the examination of a socialized but soulless creature, which is what Harmony is. She doesn't actually really care about most people, except inasmuch as it affects her. She doesn't want to have to move, so she doesn't snack on her neighbors. She wants to keep her job, so she doesn't eat people at work. I loved the "I don't have a soul, I have to try harder" line, and I loved what the actress did in all those little scenes... like when she says (because she remembers that that's what she'd do as a human) "No, I couldn't just ditch you, Fred, we're having friend-time!" Fred gets halfway through the protestation that it's alright, and Harm chips in with "Okay, seeya," to make it perfectly clear that she's been socialized into remembering the appropriate things to say, but doesn't really get why they're important anymore.
That's something Joss does in almost all of his shows -- he has somebody who is borderline antisocial integrated into the cast, just to show us all the cultural things we take for granted.
Also: Personal theory (and one I used in a book) regarding socialization levels -- the creatures who socialize and adapt into humanity are the ones who have to. A low-powered vamp is going to socialize unless (s)he gets some big powerful artifact. A high-powered vamp or demon is going to lurk in the sewers and eat people. The people who so often break the rules of politeness and ettiquette are the ones who have the power to get away with it -- they rarely if ever experience negative consequences for their actions, so they never have any reason to grow and learn socialized behavior.
Hence the vampire leaders being either old and wise (The Master) or lucky (Spike) or dead (every stuffed-up two-bit boss who serves as the stake-victim for a given episode).
Something KB touched on way up above that I liked -- the examination of a socialized but soulless creature, which is what Harmony is. She doesn't actually really care about most people, except inasmuch as it affects her. She doesn't want to have to move, so she doesn't snack on her neighbors. She wants to keep her job, so she doesn't eat people at work. I loved the "I don't have a soul, I have to try harder" line, and I loved what the actress did in all those little scenes... like when she says (because she remembers that that's what she'd do as a human) "No, I couldn't just ditch you, Fred, we're having friend-time!" Fred gets halfway through the protestation that it's alright, and Harm chips in with "Okay, seeya," to make it perfectly clear that she's been socialized into remembering the appropriate things to say, but doesn't really get why they're important anymore.
That's something Joss does in almost all of his shows -- he has somebody who is borderline antisocial integrated into the cast, just to show us all the cultural things we take for granted.
Also: Personal theory (and one I used in a book) regarding socialization levels -- the creatures who socialize and adapt into humanity are the ones who have to. A low-powered vamp is going to socialize unless (s)he gets some big powerful artifact. A high-powered vamp or demon is going to lurk in the sewers and eat people. The people who so often break the rules of politeness and ettiquette are the ones who have the power to get away with it -- they rarely if ever experience negative consequences for their actions, so they never have any reason to grow and learn socialized behavior.
Hence the vampire leaders being either old and wise (The Master) or lucky (Spike) or dead (every stuffed-up two-bit boss who serves as the stake-victim for a given episode).
