Entertainment
The Buffy Episode That Secretly Honored The Earliest Cinematic Universe
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is arguably the most seminal series of the ‘90s, influencing literally decades of movies and TV shows. There’s a reason every superhero film is full of “Whedon-esque” dialogue: because everyone writing modern movies grew up watching Buffy crack pop culture-inflused jokes while dusting vamps, one stake at a time. On top of the clever writing, the show succeeded because it turned the horror genre on its head, presenting someone who would normally be the victim in a scary movie (namely, a pretty little blonde) into someone who scared even the most frightening monsters.
Horror fans naturally flocked to Buffy because it featured vampires, werewolves, zombies, and just about every supernatural threat you could imagine. Ironically, though, all this surface-level scariness often kept fans from seeing the spooky forest for the trees. For example, most audiences realize very early on that the episode “Beauty and the Beasts” is an homage to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But few have realized that this episode is also an homage to the earliest cinematic universe: Universal Monsters!
Nowhere To Hyde
“Beauty and the Beasts” is an episode where the Scooby Gang discovers a horrific murder and thinks that the killer could be their pal Oz, who transforms from a laconic rocker to a hungry werewolf at the sight of the full moon. The real culprit is a Sunnydale High student who has been taking a potion to make himself stronger and more virile (Chadmaxxing, as the kids might say). But he ends up turning into a rage monster who beats his girlfriend and kills innocent victims. Buffy is ready to put him down for good, but she doesn’t have to, as the Incredulous Hulk is killed by Angel, who has mysteriously returned to life.
From the very beginning, Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans easily clocked that “Beauty and the Beasts” was referencing The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which an upstanding scientist creates a potion to help unleash his dark side. That happens to the young antagonist at the heart of this story, and, as with Dr. Jekyll, the monster he unleashes ultimately gets him killed. What most fans didn’t clock, though, is that this underrated episode also serves as an homage to the cinematic universe that Universal Pictures created when their famous monsters began popping up in each other’s films.
An American Werewolf In Sunnydale
Nearly 80 years before Robert Downey Jr. kicked off the MCU, Universal created the original cinematic universe by combining some of its most famous properties. Audiences had already fallen in love with iconic movies featuring monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man, and in the ‘40s, the studio began making crossover films like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. These killer crossovers became major hits for the same reason the Marvel Cinematic Universe did: namely, that audiences enjoyed seeing directors turn the silver screen into a playbox filled with their favorite toys.
What does this have to do with “Beauty and the Beasts?” Well, this Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode has its Mr. Hyde (who appeared in Universal’s Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) squaring off against the transformed Oz, who is the Buffy equivalent of the Wolf Man. He also fights against Angel, who is the Buffy equivalent of Dracula (at least, until the real Dracula shows up in Season 5). Meanwhile, our titular Slayer is a kind of stand-in for Van Helsing, battling both the Wolf Man and Mr. Hyde before the episode is over.
In many ways, Buffy’s homage to the Universal Monsters is quite appropriate: if not for the success of the 1931 Dracula, we wouldn’t have had nearly a century of movies and TV shows based on everyone’s favorite bloodsuckers. Plus, while “Beauty and the Beasts” isn’t the best Season 3 episode, it does channel the best thing about Universal’s old crossover monster movies: namely, seeing a bunch of crazy monsters get into deliciously over-the-top fights. It’s enough to make me wish Buffy had updated her hilariously out-of-date Season 1 tag line: “if the monster mash comes, beep me!”
Entertainment
Larry David Said He Would Never Write Another Finale, Then He Did The Funniest Thing Ever
By TeeJay Small
| Published
If you grew up in the 1990s or early 2000s, you almost certainly spent your fair share of evenings tuned into the comedy stylings of Seinfeld. The series, which boasted some of the highest ratings of all time, drew in a staggering number of fans.
The much-anticipated finale was reportedly watched by over 76 million people live, with millions more catching it via reruns and streaming deals. Series co-creator Larry David even returned to pen the final two-part episode, after leaving the show several years earlier. Unfortunately, the Seinfeld finale failed to impress audiences, with many critics calling it the worst sitcom finale of its day.
Larry David Vows Never To Write Another Series Finale
For years, Larry David maintained that he would never write another TV finale again. In fact, he nearly ended his next hit show Curb Your Enthusiasm without telling anybody at all. After airing eight seasons without any major interruptions, news of a Curb season nine simply didn’t materialize for years, leaving many fans and critics to wonder if the show had stealthily been cancelled behind the scenes. Over three years later, David sat down with The Guardian. When asked if he would bring Curb Your Enthusiasm back for more episodes, he proclaimed “I guess, right now, the odds would be against it, probably six to one.”
Larry David continued to explain that the fan reaction to the Seinfeld finale rubbed him the wrong way, and left him unsure about giving Curb a definitive conclusion. He argued “I wouldn’t say I’m mad about it, but it taught me a lesson that if I ever did another show, I wasn’t going to wrap it up.” After suffering through six years of silence about the future of Curb, fans were shocked when season nine finally arrived, in 2017. From there, the show resumed its usual schedule, as though the six year break never happened. Then, in 2023, Larry shocked the world by formally announcing that season 12 would be the show’s last.
The Infamous Seinfeld Finale
Just in case you’re not familiar with the Seinfeld conclusion, let’s run through a few brief bullet points. The finale centers on the main characters as they are drawn into a Kafkaesque criminal trial during an out-of-state trip. Numerous one-off side characters from the series appear and take the witness stand, creating a sort of clip show of the gang’s worst moments. After fruitlessly defending themselves as pillars of moral justice, they are thrown into jail, where they continue to pour over the minutia of everyday life as the camera pans away one last time.
If any of that sounds strikingly familiar to you, it may be because that is exactly how Larry David chose to end Curb Your Enthusiasm 26 years later. Right at the beginning of Curb season 12, Larry travels out of state, and violates a Dickensian law, resulting in him facing a criminal trial. As the season progressed weekly, fans took to social media to muse about how funny it would be if the finale acted as an exact retread of the much hated Seinfeld conclusion. Week after week it became clear that that was exactly what was going on, leaving fans unsure about the artistic choice.
Larry David Repeats The Seinfeld Finale
Season 12, episode 10 “No Lessons Learned” aired on April 7, 2024, and practically served as an exact remake of Seinfeld’s “The Finale.” Obviously, there were a few key differences, like Larry getting off after a juror broke his sequester, but nearly all of the broad strokes served as a giant middle finger to critics. During a visit to PaleyFest shortly after the Curb finale aired, Larry was asked about his decision to end the show, alongside Jerry Seinfeld and executive producer Jeff Schaffer.
Per People, Schaffer stated “it was a joke 26 years in the making. It’s neat that you can stick around long enough to do that.” Larry David didn’t mince words, however, and humorously offered one simple message to his detractors. “F— you!” He shouted. “You didn’t like the first one? F— you!” So if there is a lesson to be learned from the narrative of “No Lessons Learned,” it’s that sometimes, the funniest thing you can do is double down.
Entertainment
Grindr for lesbians? Here are the best dating apps for LGBTQ women.
Read our full Tinder Platinum review.
It’s still a lawless land, but the huge LGBTQ user base and added pronouns make it a viable option for gay gals. If you’re looking for a place to go where you are guaranteed to find a well-populated user base, Tinder is your app. Tinder is often bashed for its high number of creepy users/messages — and rightfully so. But given its sheer number of active users (including queer ones), you know we couldn’t leave it off the list.
There’s a strong chance you know at least one couple that got their start on Tinder. Countless success stories are told on Reddit when someone asks about where to meet other lesbians. You know the drill: Add pictures, set an age range, and fill out a bio as seriously and extensively (or not) as you want. While the matching isn’t exactly strategic, it’s definitely the app that’ll help most with scoping out the most lesbians in the vicinity.
“If you’re looking for a casual hookup with a wide user base, Tinder is usually an easy place to start,” Kiana Reeves, Somatic Sex Educator, Intimacy Coach, and Chief Education Officer at Foria, tells Mashable. “The app allows you to filter potential matches based on gender, location, and age preferences and will certainly give you a broad sense of what the dating scene is like in your area across a wide range of interests and ages.”
Though your feed will likely be packed with way more lesbians than other apps, it’ll see more appearances by men, too. Tinder has a tendency to ignore filters here and there, though men obviously can’t talk to anyone who doesn’t swipe right. Who can message you, though, are the girls you swipe right for who, surprise, aren’t on Tinder to meet women romantically. Some are looking for friends; some are recruiting a third for a threesome with their boyfriend — either way, you’ll have to do some wedding.
Thankfully, Tinder has made some changes within the last few years to improve its safety features, including verified profiles and the “Does This Bother You?” feature, which flags potentially inappropriate messages and asks the receiver if they’d like to report them. You can also block other users for shitty behavior, which is nice.
Entertainment
The best dating apps for serious relationships
Finding love isn’t for the weak. Dating app exhaustion is realer than ever, and while people want to branch out and meet in person, they’re finding it difficult.
One reason is that dating apps are a legitimate way to find a partner, and not just a short-term one. Nearly 44 percent of adults say they use dating apps to find a long-term partner rather than just casual dating or hookups, according to the Pew Research Center. One in 10 partnered adults met their current partner through a dating app, and for younger adults and LGBTQ people, that number rises even higher.
Dating apps aren’t going away, despite fatigue. And it is possible to make them work for you if you want to find your special someone.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
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readers’ pick for casual connections
Hinge
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popular choice for regular meetups
Are dating apps worth it?
Even using the “right” app for you may still bring moments of uncertainty and frustration (you’re dating, after all), but finding the app with features that most closely align with your dating style and the type of partnership you’re looking for can still make online dating worth it.
If you’ve been using apps for a while and are experiencing serious burnout, it’s always fair to take some time off and come back to them when you feel ready. Our guide will be here for you! Even the best app can feel exceptionally tedious when you simply don’t have the energy.
Which dating app is best for serious relationships?
There are so many dating apps, but not all of them are created equal when it comes to finding a serious, committed relationship.
Some free dating apps are better suited for casual flings or hookups (e.g., Tinder, Grindr, etc.), while others have matching algorithms and profile features specifically designed to help users find meaningful connections (e.g., eharmony, OkCupid, Hinge, and Coffee Meets Bagel).
The good news is that we’ve done the research (and hands-on testing) to figure out which apps work best for long-term relationships, and Match Group isn’t the only player in the game. Plus, all of these platforms are available via Google Play and the App Store, so having an Android or iPhone won’t limit your options. Some old-school dating sites still maintain desktop versions.
To find your match, here are the best dating apps for serious relationships in 2026:
Larry David Said He Would Never Write Another Finale, Then He Did The Funniest Thing Ever
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