"Spiral" - Did SMG really lift her?

[SlayerGuy91]

I watched this episode last night and I found one of the scenes to be quite odd. When Tara reveals Dawn as the Key, Buffy grabs her hand and Glory chases them through campus and when Dawn cannot run anymore Buffy picks her up and carries her. I found this to be really weird as Dawn is at least a foot taller than Buffy and I didn't think SMG would be able to carry her. It was pretty laughable because it looks absurd watching petite SMG carrying her larger, younger 'sister' and running with her. Did SMG actually carry Michelle during the filming of the scene or is it some sort of trick? Your thoughts?

[wiccianslayer]

i think she really did carry her but i haven't watched it for a while sooo

[white avenger]

Sarah might've lifted her and took a couple of steps on camera, but a stunt double cayyring a very light weight dummy took over from there.

[StuckinTraffic]

That scene always cracks me up, because if you watch the stunt double running with "Dawn" in her arms....you can SO tell it's not SMG. They don't walk or run the same way.....totally different body movements.

[Aussie]

Definatly a stunt double :p

[Rebecca]

You can also see the dummys head flopping back and forth when the stunt double is running. lol.

[Joyce Summers]

Yeah definitely a stunt double. You can tell by the arms. She SO doesn't have SMG's teeny-weeny arms. Plus, like some of you guys have said, she runs completely differently too. And it was more than likely a Dawn Dummy :)

[IdiotJed]

I just found it odd that Dawn would need to be carried at all. When I was her age, I could run twice as far as I do now. Not that that's saying much, but still! A Hell God is chasing me wanting to bleed me and watch me die - I'm finding that extra energy to run really, really fast.

[Joyce Summers]

But did you SEE how fast Glory ran? She turned to a blur the likes of which you've only ever seen on cartoons. Even Buffy couldn't outrun her and Buffy runs faster than any human or vampire. THAT was why Dawn needed to be carried. Fit and healthy teen or not, she just isn't physically able to run at that same supernatural speed.

[IdiotJed]

But did you SEE how fast Glory ran? She turned to a blur the likes of which you've only ever seen on cartoons. Even Buffy couldn't outrun her and Buffy runs faster than any human or vampire. THAT was why Dawn needed to be carried. Fit and healthy teen or not, she just isn't physically able to run at that same supernatural speed.

True. Still, that threw me. I guess it was the whining that got to me. It usually does.

[Joyce Summers]

Whining? Dawn or Glory? (Sorry, I've been on Dawn AND Glory threads today so I'm all confused about people's opinions, haha)

[Side note: Dawn's 'whining' never bothered me and I didn't think Glory was 'whiny'. But go ahead with explaining what your opinion is for me, haha.]

[bradlee]

I never really saw Dawn as whiney either. She was a little sister so naturally she annoyed Buffy a bit, but I kinda think she was justified in her complaints a lot of the time.

[cultcross]

I never really saw Dawn as whiney either. She was a little sister so naturally she annoyed Buffy a bit, but I kinda think she was justified in her complaints a lot of the time.

I think she got a lot worse in season 6 - Older and Far Away was particularly loathsome for Dawn whinging.

[Joyce Summers]

I understand it driving people a little insane in Older and Far Away but the poor sweetie was feeling neglected in the worst way. After all within the space of two months she lost her Mom and her sister. Her entire family gone like that. Then she gets more than she could ever have hoped for- her sister back, alive and with her. And she barely looks at her for five minutes in one week.
Admittedly, they did all have lives, but Dawn needed a little love. She was a fifteen year old girl who'd gone through so much and just wanted for one night for everyone to be around her and not leave her alone at night eating leftovers (which she had been doing nearly every night for months).
The problem was Buffy and her friends were only 21 and while they loved Dawn they weren't able to give Dawn that love and attention she required. It was really the kind only a Mom could give and well, her Mom wasn't there anymore. So Dawn was acting out. Such loss and loneliness at such a young age was just too much for her. Hence the acting out.
And when they all find out they're stuck in the house I think it's Buffy's unfortunate phrasing that made Dawnr eact like she did. Buffy said 'We all have places we'd rather be' which implies that none of them want to be at the house where Dawn always is, ergo, they don't want to be with Dawn. If Buffy had said 'We all have places we have to be right now' it would have been quite different I think.

[Senior Watcher]

that was definitely the stunt double. i mean seriously, smg could only carry mt so far before her arms fell off!

i wish i was on set that day because im sure they had a good laugh whem smg picked up mt and carried her.

not to ruin it for you sg91, but that happens quite often with smg (you know, the stunt double helping out and stuff).

anyway, good catch. someone should probably clock how much screen time the stunt doubles have versus the actors. im sure the percentages would be crazy close.

[Crazy Flakes]

Dawn's whining is justified most of the time...as Joss said, the girl has serious abandonment issues! Plus, I know I'd freak out if I found out my entire life wasn't real. And don't even think about saying Dawn's too whiny in season 8...I mean, I'd certainly complain more than her if I were supersized AND abandoned by my sister!

Anyway, back on topic...

I just watched Spiral to check and laughed out loud. Yeah...definitely not SMG or Michelle.

[ILLYRIAN]

Was the stunt double a bloke for that scene? we never got a facial shot?
The stunt person seemed to run like a bloke would, maybe if Michelle fancied him she would have wanted to be carried.

Blokes being stunt doubles for girls isn't a new thing. One of Halle Berry's stunt double's was a bloke; for the bit when she faces away from the camera, she didn't think her bum was a good enough shape.

[InsaneMystic]

Guys, you got way too much spare time if you worry about this... we're talking about a scene that takes how long? Three, maybe four seconds? It's over so quickly that I wouldn't even have noticed anything had I not read this thread shortly before rewatching the ep. And even waiting for the scene to happen, I don't consider it obvious at all. (Well, perhaps they were afraid it would indeed be an issue and cut the scene purposefully as short as possible?)

[ILLYRIAN]

We've got too much spare time? How long did you spend coming up with that answer?
Most of the threads on this forum aren't really necessary, but some people do enjoy responding.

[InsaneMystic]

We've got too much spare time? How long did you spend coming up with that answer?
Hey, anyone knows I've got more than enough spare time. :wink:

Still, I find the discussion a bit overboard... you know, I read this thread only a day before rewatching the ep and was expecting a big blooper, but then I found these tiny little shots of maybe three seconds in all, where you'd have to look very close to even start noticing something is off. Just seemed a bit anticlimactic to me, that's all.

[Vampmogs]

It's very obvious it's a dummy, I don't think one has to try and notice it. You see the side of the dummies face and it has no features, and it's head is rocking back and forth as it's been carried because it's very light. It's extremely obvious. A big deal, no. Obvious, yes!