"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) TV series 1997-2003

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Joss Whedon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

10 March 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Get home before dark.

Plot:

After the traumatizing ordeal in the movie with the same name, Buffy Summers and her mother move to Sunnydale, only to discover that L.A. was just a walk in the park...

Plot Keywords:

Demon | High School | Vampire | Destiny | Chosen One

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 34 wins & 99 nominations

Cast

Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers / ... (145 episodes, 1997-2003)
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris (145 episodes, 1997-2003)
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg (144 episodes, 1997-2003)
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles / ... (124 episodes, 1997-2003)
James Marsters	...	Spike (97 episodes, 1997-2003)
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya (85 episodes, 1998-2003)
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers (66 episodes, 2000-2003)

Also Known As:

"BtVS" (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
"Buffy" (USA) (short title)
"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer: The Series" (USA) (long title)

Runtime:

44 min (144 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:M | USA:TV-14 | Australia:M | Israel:PG | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) (season 7) | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-14 (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

California State University Northridge - 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

James Marsters originally auditioned for Spike with a Texan accent. This was quickly jettisoned in favor of a London accent instead.

Quotes:

Andrew Wells: Get out of my brain!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of the House (2005/I)

Soundtrack:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme

If you don't like camp, you won't like Buffy.

I notice from the reviews that people either love this show, or they hate it. And I can see why.

Buffy is almost enjoyable but ultimately disappointing. The writing, which is supposed to be so great, is a bit too self-obsessed. Every time someone says something "funny" you can feel the writer going tee hee over his keyboard. And the actors don't help. They play the funny stuff like they're doing comedy, which is my least favorite way of delivering humor. They ham it up something fierce and it just causes the narrative to derail as they slip from being in character to being "funny" and back. The comedy is probably a major complaint. If the delivery were different and the constant attempts at humor were toned down and the show took itself just a little more seriously it might be a more immersive experience. Instead it's jarring and unbelievable.

Among the other unbelievable things are the character's reactions to the situations they encounter. When friends of the main characters die there's no mourning. Just, whoops, and move on. Deaths in general don't seem to effect the world in any way. When people realize there really are such things as vampires they shrug it off instead of reacting. There's no exploration of humanity in the writing. It's very forced, very plotted, very stereotyped. All of this adds up to me not giving a flip about any of the characters in the show, except maybe Angel who appears to have an actual inner conflict though I fully expect the writers to overemphasize plot in his case and trivialize anything interesting about him.

Overall its campy and never takes off the kid gloves in the episodes I've seen. Also, the complete lack of a skeptic in the show's universe probably bothers me on a personal level. No one questions anything, no matter how out there, unless of course that thing interferes with their social life, then the self-centered skepticism kicks in. "How could there possibly be a portal to hell opening tonight, the same night that I've got a date with the cutest boy in schooool!?"

I wanted to like this show because I know smart and interesting people who rave about it. But so far all the episodes I've seen were all sass and no substance. And it doesn't have to be that way. A show like Dexter has similar goals but none of the failings. It aims to be dark and funny and succeeds while Buffy just tries and tries but gets tangled up in too much ambition with too little humanity. A major issue is the lack of consequences. The events have only an insular effect on the world. It's like watching pebbles falling into a pond and causing no ripple. It frustrates your logic and therefore requires you to leave your brain at the door. And even that can be fine as long as the trade off is fair, but what's the trade off here? What does one gain by suspending disbelief? Not much that I can tell. A soap opera full of characters you could give a crap about and a lot of campy flat humor.

If watching a show that thrives on camp is your thing, you'll probably like Buffy. If however you need some internal logic then just move along because this show will set your teeth on edge.