Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 7

As another summer draws to its end, the rebuilt Sunnydale High is finally opening its doors to a new generation of students. Dawn heads for classes in the new place, while Buffy herself is hired by the charming principal Robin Wood (DB Woodside) to be the new student counselor. But from beneath the school, the Hellmouth is beginning to open, and this time a force unlike any other is prepared to use it for its dark ends. A force capable of touching every part of the world simultaneously, striking at the very heart of its protectors - the Watchers' Council and the Slayer line. And while Potential Slayers are getting killed all over the globe, Sunnydale is becoming both the safest place for the girls to go, and the most dangerous. The First Evil has made its move. And this time the Slayer won't be enough.

Season 7 is not simply the final season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It is one huge, 22-episode Finale for the entire show. Throughout every episode there is a feeling of impending disaster, of a convergence of powers the likes of which Buffy has never faced before. She has slain vampires, demons, monsters born of magic and science, hellgods and even herself, but every second of this season shows you that this, here, now, is - one way or the other - the end of all that she, her friends, or any of us have ever known.

Buffy Season 7 is vibrant with the energy of closure, and it is not surprising that closure, as well as redemption, are the two predominant themes in it. Gone are many of the insecurities, uncertainties and undefined fears of the Scoobies. They have faced terror, darkness and hell itself - both without and within - and have emerged triumphant, even through loss and suffering. Now they are all - Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Dawn, Anya and in the end even Spike - the thing that so few characters in fiction are - true and real heroes. They are champions, not simply of abstract concepts like "good", and "justice", but of morality and integrity. They have all made mistakes, both small and profound, and the truths they have learned, the justice they represent, are now not something they like or respect, but something they are.

Should you take a step back and look at it in the context of the entire show, Season 7 is a thing of beauty. It is the culmination of a phenomenon that was never afraid to go into places of darkness and shine the light of love and humor on them. It often delivered not what the viewers wanted, but what they needed. And, unlike almost every other TV show ever made, Buffy The Vampire Slayer realized its potential. It was a glorious ride that lasted for seven amazing years of constant reinvention, evolution and growth, and it ended exactly when its time came, with the bang that it deserved.

Every actor in the show gives their best performances here - Nicholas Brandon and Allison Hannigan in particular, reminding us how terribly important Willow and Xander have always been to this show - and there are many fine moments from each of its main writers as well, particularly the ridiculously talented Jane Espenson. Truth be told, it is hard to pick any one moment to praise, as it all fits together so well.

Due to the dynamic of the season arc, there is not much to say about individual episodes, and it would be beside the point anyway. There are gems among them, no doubt - like the hauntingly enjoyable and originally structured Conversations With Dead People, where - due to scheduling conflicts - every one of the characters is in a separate storyline the entire time; or the humorous yet heartbreaking Storyteller, focusing on Andrew's (Tom Lenk) own redemption, facing the truth of what he has done. Perhaps the greatest "year one" episode is Anya's own Selfless, which, in a series of gorgeous flashbacks, shows her journey from a pre-medieval village housewife to one of the most powerful demons on the planet, to an awkwardly honest yet ultimately kind-hearted human. It even features another musical number from her, going back to the night before the events of Season 6's Once More With Feeling.

Season 7 is not, however, about the individual episodes. It is about Buffy's last battle as a guardian of the Hellmouth. The final episode, Chosen, is the culmination of all the tension that has been gathering throughout the whole season. A battle of epic proportions, and one that - were it shot in today's high budget television - would have rivaled anything Lord of the Rings showed us about fantasy. Amazing soundtrack, fantastic battle scenes and effects that are more spectacular than anything Buffy has ever done before, and yet Chosen's true power is not in its action, but in the beauty that comes of reaching the end of a long road. It is in the scene where the four original Scoobies - Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles - discuss what they are going to do tomorrow, and it is in Giles' full-circle comment that yes, the world is definitely doomed. It is in The three inseparable friends going their separate ways to do their part in the final battle, without saying anything, parting with but a slight touch of hands and a knowing smile.

But it is, above all else, in the episode's message. Which is, ultimately, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's message. That you are strong. That there are those around you, on which you can rely. That love redeems, and that forgiveness cures. That sacrifice is only worth when you do it for others, and that we all have inside of us the potential to save the world.

The show ends with a future. A whole new world to explore. "We saved the world", Dawn says. "We changed the world", replies a disbelieving Willow. And so they have, if maybe just a little bit, for those of us that looked at what Joss Whedon gave us without cultural and intellectual prejudices, and opened our eyes to see beyond a cheesy premise and a corny title. Buffy The Vampire Slayer changed us, and for the better. In the end, it was more than just another TV show, more than just entertainment and thrills. It went beyond art, beyond storytelling, and style, and characterization. It went beyond them to come to us. And I will end this long series of reviews by saying that if my posts have inspired even a single soul to watch the show with the eyes to see it for the glorious experience that it is, then I will be content.

10/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 6

WARNING: Hideous and unavoidable spoilers for the ending of Season 5! You have been warned!


Things are not going so well in Sunnydale. The Scoobies are doing their best to hide the truth of the Slayer's death by using the Buffybot, but it is only a matter of time before someone realizes that the real Buffy is gone. Willow, however, is preparing a spell to bring her friend back from whatever hell dimension claimed her when she sacrificed herself to close the gate, opened by Glory. So Buffy is back. But is she the same as before? And where was she when she was gone?

Season 6 is by far the darkest, most controversial and most realistic of the whole show. Gone are many of the comfortable allegories, many of the symbols, only to be replaced by cold, unwelcoming reality. Buffy's return from the grave leaves her emotionally scarred, not in the least because of the fact that it was heaven - and not hell, as her friends assumed - that Willow dragged her back from. Now, with her mother gone, she is forced to face real life with its simple and cruel problems - paying the bills, caring for a volatile younger sister... basically becoming an adult.

Being adult and facing your problems is the theme of the season, and it is the reason why many people hate it so much. Season 6 is the farthest Buffy has ever been from the roots of vampire-slaying smart comedy. There is a lot of drama here, and not all of it is of the epic saving the world kind. Actually, this is among the worse seasons in the show - many of the themes get overly repetitive, some of the concepts just miss the target, and at times the darkness seems inappropriately overwhelming. But Season 6 is bold television, of the type rarely seen these days. It goes into forbidden territories, tackling themes like rape, sexual frustration, coming out, admitting painful truths to yourself, the purely human lust for humiliation and domination, and the shallow desperation of minimum-wage life. And more often than not the journey is worth it.

Buffy's turning into an adult that can face her problems without outside help is central to the plot. She is at her lonest - not only denied Giles' help (he leaves her in the first third of the season for the very purpose of not becoming her emotional crutch), but also feeling distanced from her friends. It is no surprise that in the end a sick relationship between her and Spike emerges - one to define both of them for the whole year and beyond. The beautiful circular structure of the season sees Buffy rise from a grave again, in the final episode, but it is a true rebirth this time, triumphant and filled with hope.

Spike, in contrast, is unchanged and unchanging, as all the soulless are in the Buffyverse. His love for the Slayer is undeniable, yet he simply can't be something that she could love, no matter how much he wants to. The cliffhangery ending to his story-arc is one of the biggest surprises in the show, and had lasting repercussions not only in Season 7, but also in Season 5 of Angel.

The other Scoobies all play major parts in the theme of the season. And both Willow and Xander fail spectacularly. After a fashion, Season 6 sees the lowest points for both of them, but it also gives resolution to Xander's uncertainty of what his place in the group is, while leaving Willow's future unclear and turbulent, after the grief-fueled trauma of the finale. Even with Buffy's rising from the grave to return to the hell of everyday life, it is Willow who suffers the most. Her addiction to magic in this season doesn't even try to hide the obvious allusions to drug abuse, using words like "tripping", "dose" and "supplier" to sometimes overstate the simple truth that behind the facade of a reliable, honest and supportive person, Willow Rosenberg is by far the weakest in terms of personality. It ruins her life in more than one way, and then, when it seems that things are looking up, a stupid accident destroys her completely.

However, it is not all gloom and doom. The season's "villain" is actually a trio of geeks - Jonathan (Danny Strong), Warren (Adam Busch) (who we knew from before) and Andrew (Tom Lenk) who just decided one day (over a D&D session) to take over Sunnydale. Jonathan's magics, Warren's technology and Andrew's demons actually give Buffy quite a run for her money, because the intent was never for them to be just comic reliefs, but still The Trio is one of the funniest archnemesis...es... in television. Their constant bickering about James Bond actors, comic book plot points and bruised egos is hilarious, while their immaturity grows to form three very different people - one who desperately craves to be loved, one horrified with himself, and one very twisted murderer. Still, much of their interaction is made of funny, and besides, they add to the theme of real-life. It is not a vampire, a demon or a god that threatens the Slayer in Season 6, but three confused and bitter teenage outcasts she went to school with.

Very few episodes in this season deserve special mention, and not because it is generally bad, but because there are almost no stand-alones to speak of. The whole year is a seamless tour of tragedy and repetition, which could be taken as both an unclear season concept and a clever allegory of the confused loops that teenagers' lives sometimes are.

I've already posted a review of the most spectacular episode in the season - the musical Once More With Feeling - so that leaves me with just a few to list. Tabula Rasa is both funny - with the whole gang losing their memories due to Willow's addiction to magic - and sad, as it signifies the end of her relationship to Tara. Still, it is hilarious to see the absurd leaps of logic the Scoobies make when faced with each other. Willow decides she must be dating Xander, while Giles and Anya think they're engaged, and most brutal of all - that Spike is Giles' son!

Gone is a repetition of Season 1's Out of Mind, Out of Sight, but this isn't Buffy lacking originality. With Buffy suddenly turned invisible by - I kid you not - the Trio's invisibility ray (!!!), Gone uses the opportunity to show just how much she wishes she could escape herself and the life she's thrust into. Hell's Bells sees the conclusion to Xander and Anya's story-line in what is one of the most infuriating of Whedonisms. I have already mentioned the guy's distaste with happy endings, but it is hardly describable the extent to which this particular one was NOT necessary.

If we don't count Once More With Feeling, then the highlight of the season is definitely Normal Again. A demon, summoned by Andrew, poisons Buffy, and she starts having hallucinations about being in a mental institution where the doctor and her parents (both alive and together) tell her that the previous six years have all been a schizophrenic fantasy she has closed herself into. As you can easily guess, the opportunity to do a surgically cold dissection of the whole show is too good to pass up, and Buffy uses this episode to not just mock, but at times cruelly ridicule its own absurdly cheesy concepts. Normal Again could also be viewed as an angry retort to all the people who denounce the show without ever having seen enough of it. The existentialism-driven story is painful, and it is not easy to watch, but although somewhat ruined by a Jack Torrance-like psycho-killer plot-twist, it is still among the very best episodes in the show, particularly with its postmodernist ending. Plus, breaking the fourth wall - always awesome!

Season 6 is the hardest to endure, especially if you are the type of person who uses the show as an escapism vehicle. It forces you to face many uncomfortable truths about life and - in some cases - yourself, while at the same time you see beloved characters going dark paths that you would never wish for them. The season is very mature (to an 18+ level at times), and there are a few particular scenes that seem almost inappropriate for it with their cruel brutality and very human ugliness.

And that is why I love it so much. True, it is a flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece none the less. It goes boldly where even "mature" and "dramatic" shows don't dare go, and still manages to mix comedy and social critique in the very painful and personal stories that it tells. And what's even more important - it is relateable. Uncomfortably so perhaps. The ride is rough and not always pleasant or easy. But it is so very much worth it!

9.5/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling

After reviewing The Body last week, it is now time for the other episode deserving of a review of its own - Season 6's brilliant musical Once More With Feeling. By far my favorite episode in the entire show, it was something Joss Whedon wanted to do since the very beginning of Buffy, but it was in Season 6 that it seemed the time has finally come. Again, WARNING! This review spoils both the ending of Season 5, and the beginning of the next one, so if you don't wanna be spoiled, steer clear!

Ok, let's jam.

A special kind of demon has been summoned in Sunnydale - one that makes everyone burst into song (and occasionally - in flames), revealing all their secrets in an unrestrained expression of emotion. This leads to some very dramatic revelations for all the Scoobies, as things they've kept hidden from the others come to surface all at once.

Once More With Feeling is a tremendous achievement, especially considering the fact that Joss Whedon has no formal musical training and had to teach himself to play the piano to be able to accompany the tunes. Although series veteran composer Chris Beck helped with the arrangement, all the songs are original Whedon creations (he worked an entire summer on this episode) which he initially recorded with him and his wife singing all the vocals. The episode is a tribute to the many different styles of musical theater of which Joss is a huge fan, and features great variety of songs. It has to be noted that at the time, only Anthony Head (Giles) and James Marsters (Spike) had prior singing careers, and from the rest only Amber Benson (Tara) is really gifted vocally. And yet, although obviously (at least to a professional musician like myself) lacking experience, the entire cast manages to do just fine with their numbers, particularly Sarah Michelle Gellar who has the biggest share of singing.

Once More With Feeling opens with a cheesy and twinkly old style re-imagining of the usual rock theme, as we see the full moon and the smiling faces of the cast projected on it, while their names are written with dramatic red letters next to them. Next, follows the typical musical opening scene, where the retro clock starts ringing, and characters begin their day with no audible dialogue. Then we get to the first number - Buffy's Going Through the Motions. Whedon explains that it is the purpose-defining song that a heroine simply has to have in a musical, present for example in every Disney classic with a girl protagonist. However, Buffy sings only of her desire to somehow find any purpose, if only to save her from faking life after being forced back into it.

Practically all the songs in the episode deserve to be mentioned, but that would be boring, so I'll just point out the highlights. Emma Caulfield's rock opera anti-bunny intrusion in the group number I've Got a Theory is absolutely fantastic, as is her duet with Nickolas Brandon - the retro-pastiche I'll Never Tell, where they both describe grudgingly all the little things that bother them in the other, and express their fears of a life spent together. James Marsters' moody rock song Let Me Rest in Peace, where Spike finally shows Buffy the depth of his feelings for her and his frustration at her ambiguity towards him is also brilliant - Marsters oozes sex appeal all over the place, and it is instantly obvious he has a lot of singing experience.

The surprise of Once More With Feeling is Amber Benson's I'm Under Your Spell, which, apart from being tragically ironic in the context of the previous episode finale, is also an eerily beautiful ballad where the actress shows tremendous musical talent. Meanwhile, this love song features the dirtiest lines Joss has ever written for Buffy, with gems like "lost in ecstasy, spread beneath my willow tree" thrown around the more innocent verses. Although not really my type of performer, Hinton Battle (playing the singing and dancing demon Sweet) cannot be ignored. Battle is a Broadway veteran, and his moves and voice are perfect for the show-tune villain he plays. The episode features cameos from executive producers Marti Noxon and David Fury (both of whom also appear in Whedon's other musical - the internet sensation Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog), and Noxon is particularly delighting as the woman on the street desperately serenading a police officer not to give her a ticket for inappropriate parking.

Just like The Body before it, Once More With Feeling is shot in a drastically different way than the rest of the show. The camera angles and the sets are often reminiscent of music videos (Let Me Rest in Peace), or classical musicals (Overture, Going Through The Motions). A particularly bright example of this is Xander and Anya's I'll Never Tell, where they both wear very stylish and retro looking bed clothes (Xander's flapping silk pyjamas are a little masterpiece of kitsch, and Anya's crimson mini-skirt, bra and fluffy high-heels are the hotness), and the camera has that arc-shot going diagonally above the characters (you know the one, and Whedon knows it too; he mentions it specifically in the commentary of the episode).

It is ironic, but being so bright, colorful and hilariously awesome, Once More With Feeling is also perhaps the most serious episode in this already quite serious season. Season 6 deals with the traumatic experience that is real life - the stuff that you cannot slay, that you cannot escape - and so it is a stroke of true genius that the very hub of this depressing wheel is, in contrast, a cheery musical episode. Make no mistake. None of the songs, even the funniest and lighthearted ones, is just for fun. They all move the plot forward, develop the characters further, or bear some hidden subtext. Willow's unhealthy addiction to magic leads to the fracturing of her relationship with Tara, while I'll Never Tell sows the first seeds of the very whedonesque development of Xander and Anya's story-line (it is Whedon's one huge flaw, the one that not even the most devoted fan could deny - his raging intolerance for happy endings when it comes to relationships). But it is Buffy's final revelation that completely shatters the Scoobies' world - the fact that they did not save her from Hell, but instead dragged her away from Heaven.

Of course, the very final few seconds of the episode - just before the heavy curtain falls and a huge "THE END" fills the screen - are also pivotal for the entire show. It is the beginning of Buffy and Spike's dysfunctional relationship. One that would define Spike until the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as the entire final season of Angel.

So, obviously, Once More With Feeling is not only a brilliantly executed musical (and one that smugly gives an actual reason for people just randomly bursting into song, although perhaps this is the only show in the universe where that would make sense), but also one of the most important episodes in the entire show, setting up story-lines that would go to its very end in Season 7 and beyond, spilling into Angel and the comic book Season 8. But before it is all those things, the episode is an awesome triumph of music - of song and dance - and of the whole spectrum of emotional broadness that inevitably follows it. It captures the very essence of what makes Buffy The Vampire Slayer the unparalleled treasure that it is, and symbolizes the true scope of what Joss Whedon is actually capable of, when given the opportunity and resources.

10/10

P.S. Also, the Mutant Enemy monster at the end of the credits actually sings its "Grr-Argh" this time. Awesome!

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 5

After the defeat of Adam and the disbanding of the Initiative, Buffy's life seems to be looking up. She is doing well in college, Riley is always by her side, and it's like Evil has decided to cut her some slack. But then a strange young woman named Glory (Clare Kramer) arrives in Sunnydale, looking for something, and Buffy barely survives her first encounter with her. And if an incredibly powerful creature of unknown origins and goals isn't enough, now the Slayer has to deal with her mother's health deteriorating... as well as with her bratty teen sister.

Starting with the ending of the very first episode, Season 5 introduces a twist in the finest traditions of Olympian shark-jumping - Buffy's younger sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). But Joss Whedon wouldn't be the genius that he is if he hadn't a couple of Aces hidden in his sleeve. The first five episodes of the season are well and truly into the realm of nail-biting frustration, as the whole cast acts like the Slayer has always had a kid sister. Everyone knows her, everyone is behaving completely normal around her, and Dawn herself seems to be as ordinary - and annoying - as is humanly possible. And yet, it all makes sense after a short while, turning this into the best introduction of a new relative in television. Opinions on Dawn vary, and as is the case with most teen-heroes in TV shows, there was a lot of hate directed her way. Being bratty, slightly hysterical and having identity issues, Dawn didn't really make it easy for viewers to like her, but Michelle Trachtenberg did a fantastic job of portraying a completely ordinary girl in a completely unnatural situation, and the season is filled with great moments in terms of her performance.

Season 5's main storyline is all about responsibility. Buffy's, obviously, is central to the arc, and by the end of it she is near the point of snapping, especially after the events of The Body episode (reviewed earlier this week). However, it is not only her. Giles is increasingly taking up the role of a father figure in her life, thus acquiring both a renewed sense of purpose, and an uncertainty as to how much help he should provide to someone who desperately need to learn to rely on herself. This is the season that sees Xander becoming more adult than all of his friends. Having to deal with the reality of being a "loser", he ends up as someone who learns to provide for himself and enters the role of the responsible one who sees truths that the others don't. Although not central to the plot in any way, Willow also features in the season's theme. It is here that her unhealthy obsession with magic begins. Particularly in Forever, where we see clearly the difference between a Wiccan and a witch. While Tara is aware of her place in the natural cycle of life, death, order and chaos, for Will magic is a game, a thrilling new frontier to be explored, conquered and experimented with. And while she is getting more and more powerful, it is uncertain where this power will take her.

Responsibility plays a part in Riley's storyline too, which - sadly - finishes in the middle of the season. Feeling Buffy becoming more and more distant, he can't accept the fact that she doesn't need him, and won't let him in. In the end, it proves too much for someone who is used to others depending on him. I was sad to see him leave, as I think Buffy's healthy and completely normal relationship provided a perfect counterpoint for the madness that rages all around her. However, the character who deserves true praise in Season 5 is Spike. His dark obsession with the Slayer finally reaches its obvious conclusion, much to Buffy's utter disgust, but in the end, it provides for a tremendous growth. James Marsters does the transition as smoothly as he handles everything else in Spike's role, and there are a couple of scenes with him toward the end of the season, that are truly heart-breaking.

The main storyline is perhaps the most ambitious one in the show so far. Glory is unlike anything the Slayer has ever faced before, and there is almost no episode - even among the completely stand-alone ones - that doesn't involve her in some way. Clare Kramer is gorgeous as the skanky, sexy and egomaniacally self-obsessed... no, I'm not saying, you'll find out what she is for yourself. Suffice to say she makes early Cordelia look like a caring soft-spoken altruist. Action is of the galore in Season 5, in a magnitude unseen in the show before. There are fights on moving cars, explosions, demolition and a crusade in this one, kids! And the beautifully shot, gorgeously soundtracked ending is the most powerful of any Buffy season, save perhaps the final one. At the time of its airing people were in so much shock (especially considering the fact that it was at that point that the show changed channels), that Joss Whedon had to issue a statement to calm things down.

As Buffy The Vampire Slayer matures, its focus toward responsibility and morale leads to some heavy treading into Gloomsville. It is difficult for me to compare Season 5's quality to that of previous seasons. It is obviously a lot stronger than Seasons 1, 2 and 4, but it is so drastically different from Season 3, that it's hard to say whether it's better or worse. The main storyline is strong, but at times feels dragging and aimless, while apart from the devastating masterpiece The Body, stand-alones don't offer jewels like previous season's Hush, Superstar or Restless. At the same time though, the cast is now absolutely comfortable in their roles, and most of them give their best performances to date. And the overall quality of both drama and comedy is, I think, higher than that of any of the prior seasons.

Writer Jane Espenson is one of the hidden stars of Season 5. She does an amazing job of tackling important issues and presenting them in light-hearted context with an amazing sense of comedy. Her episodes include the absolutely fantastic The Replacement, where Xander is accidentally split into two separate copies, each possessing half of his personality traits; I Was Made to Love You, dealing with male obsessions over the perfect woman - this time in the form of a... well, girlfriendbot - and last but not least, the gorgeous Intervention, which is both a hilarious comedy, a Spike-driven heart-wrenching drama, and a Glory action all at once. Kudos to one of the most important members of the Whedon crew.

A few other episodes deserve recognition. Fool for Love is among the best in the entire show, and tells us the story of how Spike was sired by Drusilla (try not to faint with laughter at the reason he was known as William the Bloody prior to becoming a vampire), and his subsequent triumphs over not one, but two Slayers. Crush has Drusilla return to Sunnydale in an attempt to get Spike back on his feet, while his brainless girlfriend Harmony gets fed up with being treated like garbage, and it is the episode where Buffy learns of his feelings for her. It's a great exploration of obsession and the intricately illogical female mind, as well as having a few priceless moments both in terms of comedy and drama. And even though I already reviewed The Body, I can't emphasize strongly enough how brilliant that episode is. It is a little sad that one can't appreciate it fully without seeing everything up to that point before that.

No matter where you put it in your personal chart, Buffy Season 5 is one of the best in the show. It is bold and aggressive, features amazing performances from everyone in its cast, is choke-full of action and comedy, and gives us arguably the best drama ever seen on television. Not bad for half a year's work, eh?

10/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Body

I just watched Season 5's episode The Body, and it seems to me that it deserves a separate post, as it is too much to deal with in any other context.

WARNING! Obviously, this review has to contain a humongous spoiler, so if you are yet to see it, by all means do not read the rest of the entry, or even look at the picture below. You have been warned!

















It is hard for me to figure out how I should go about such a profound work of art, perhaps because I have not experienced the situation described in the episode yet, thank God, or perhaps because it is so powerful, that in a way, talking about it feels a little inadequate. The death of Joyce Summers, Buffy and Dawn's mother, came out of nowhere, and the Whedon-directed The Body was as much a shock to viewers, as the situation was to the show's characters. A deep and tragic episode, filmed with integrity and painful realism, it has been described by both fans and critics as "one of the finest hours of drama in the history of television". The fact that the episode wasn't even nominated for an Emmy borders on the obscene, but the truth is that pop-culture isn't equipped to deal with this level of real.

Because Joss wanted to make this episode about the reality of losing a loved one. About the utter incomprehensibility of the first few hours. The Body is vastly different from any other episode in the show, not only in terms of story, but also in the way it was shot. For one, there is no music in it. Whedon thought - and rightly so - that a soundtrack to such an event would be cheating, it would "tell" people how to feel. He didn't want it to be that easy. After the opening sequence there is a cheery flashback Christmas scene with Joyce alive and all the Scoobies gathered around the table. It was put because Whedon wouldn't have the credits shown in the initial minutes of Buffy's reaction to finding her mother dead on the couch. The scene is painful to watch in this context, and cuts sharply back to reality.

Buffy's catatonic shock is perhaps the best performance in Sarah Michelle Gellar's career. The character literally ages a few decades in front of our eyes, and as the camera follows her around the house while she is waiting first for the paramedics, and then for Giles to arrive, you could physically feel reality crashing down on her, burying her under the weight of meaningless pain. In the opening sequence are established three key components of The Body. First, it centers on the mundane, the stupid little details - things that you would never notice in a normal day, but that suddenly become abstractly important, holding an almost timeless quality. Joss Whedon describes the feeling he wanted to capture as one of almost boredom. The tragedy drowning your sense of the real under a false blanket of the daily and the mundane.

Second, every scene in the episode is shot almost entirely in real time. There is no real plot structure to it, just four segments that show how the characters deal with Joyce's death. The prolonged scenes where nothing of seeming importance happens might be among the most meaningful comments on dealing with tragedy I have seen in my life.

And third, the camera. It deserves a special mention, as it - along with the absence of soundtrack - delivers most of the episode's unique atmosphere. A lot of strange angles are used to show Buffy's detachment from reality, while the scene where we couldn't see past the paramedic's mouth as he is telling her that her mother is dead, because she can't look at his face, is heartwrenching. There are a few dream-sequences in the episode - the first one being the Christmas flashback - and they all end in sudden cut-backs to reality. The second one - where Joyce suddenly responds to CPR and opens her eyes, followed by a few short cuts in the ambulance and the hospital - is particularly painful since there is no way to recognize it as fake until you are halfway through it.

Of course, such an ambitious work would fail miserably with a lesser cast, but everyone performs beyond their best. Emma Caulfield gives her greatest performance in the entire show, as Anya breaks down, confused and completely incapable to deal with the concept of mortality. Alyson Hannigan also acts beautifully as her Willow tries to anchor herself with mundane details like the choice of appropriate clothing, while the tears are threatening to burst out. Michelle Trachtenberg also deserves a mention, since she manages to give Dawn's reaction to her mother's death a very deep, very mature feel. The actress was fifteen at the time.

In an episode that was painful in every conceivable aspect, where even Joyce's eyes were intentionally left open because Joss didn't want the viewers to have a "she is just asleep" way of escape, it is just another stroke of genius that The Body is the place where we witness Willow and Tara's first kiss. Whedon felt that since they were living together, it could not be made to look special, and so he gave them a completely non-erotic moment of intimacy and comfort in the face of overwhelming tragedy.

A work of grace, power and tragic beauty, The Body is not only the single greatest episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but also among the most profound movie/television experiences I have had. It is hard to watch, and does not get easier with repeats. If anything, it gets harder. The brilliant acting, amazing shooting decisions and the painfully honest screenplay never go over the line, never oversell the tragedy. I do not think I need to trivialize this post with a score, as it is obvious what that would be. Despite Whedon's often-voiced protests, The Body is a cathartic experience, and one that has to be seen at any cost.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 4

Freshman year in UC Sunnydale. Buffy and Willow jump into college life, while Xander must find what his future is, and Giles is struggling with the fact that after quitting the Watchers' Council he no longer has a purpose. But something is brewing under the UC Sunnydale campus - a threat that has nothing to do with the supernatural, and everything to do with governments sticking their noses where they so don't belong.

Season 4 is possibly the weakest of the later Buffy seasons. Its main story-arc is unconvincing and its central villain rings hollow. Where this show is concerned, however, "weakest" means "still pretty damn good", and ironically, one can find here three of the five best episodes in the entire show, as well as some very important character-developments. It is the first major change of scenery for the Scooby gang, as hardly any of the old places from the previous seasons are visited (understandable, considering that Sunnydale High got burned down in Season 3...). The change is welcome, however, because it feels completely natural.

The most important new character of the season is of course Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) - TA in one of the classes that Buffy and Willow attend in UC Sunnydale, but also a part of the secret government military program called The Initiative. The most important aspect of Riley's role however is the fact that he is Buffy's new romantic interest, much to most fans' chagrin. In truth, he is a fantastic character. Completely Joe Avarage (if Joe Avarage was about seven feet tall, with chiseled jaw and athlete's physique of course), nice in an oafish way, stable, understanding, immensely polite, Riley is the very opposite of every other character on this show, and the contrast works beautifully. What does not work beautifully, unfortunately, is his relationship with Buffy. Both actors do their best, but there is just no chemistry. However realistic and wholesome a character Riley is, he never feels more than a place-holder in Buffy's life, and Season 5 actually will solidify that impression.

On the not-so-controversial side we have the return of Spike who becomes a regular member of the cast (or rather - James Marsters does). After some tinkering on the Initiative's part, the most badass vampire in the world is rendered harmless to humans which makes for a lot of hilarity and impotence jokes, as well as giving a chance for all kinds of awesome interaction between him and the Scooby gang. Another guest-star made regular is Emma Caulfield's ex-vengeance demon Anya who becomes involved with Xander. She is an amazing comic relief character, who manages to not get any nuance of tact or politeness in a way that's distinctly her own and makes her not a substitute, but an equal to the missing Cordelia. The last (and - for now - least important) new addition to the cast is Tara (Amber Benson) - Willow's new friend who is also a witch, and perhaps something more.

Season 4 is centered around belonging and growing apart. Xander feels left behind, Willow goes through heavy changes, Buffy is obsessed with her "spanking new boyfriend", while Giles and Joyce feel that they have no purpose in life. And yet, as all those plot-lines converge in the next to last episode (explanations will happen, be at peace), the characters seem to have found a new bond, a symbiosis where everyone plays a part in a greater whole. This is the first season of the show that actually gives foreshadows of what is to follow next. Particularly the last episode - Restless - is big with the hinting, concerning the major plot-line of Season 5, as well as the archetypes characters will become toward the end of the show.

A few episodes merit special mention. Chief among them is Hush - one of the crowning jewels of the entire show. More than half of this episode is done without any dialogue, as a group of fairy-tale demons called the Gentlemen arrive in town and steal everybody's voices so that nobody would be heard screaming while they cut hearts out at night. Heavy on the subtext of communication and the various ways we manage to not understand each other, Hush is also one of the most effective horror-wise, as the grotesque skeletal Gentlemen are truly demonic in a way that nothing else in the entire show has ever come close to. Suffice to say that they float a foot above ground, their broad steel-toothed smiles never drop from their skull-like faces, and their exaggeratedly courteous gestures are chilling to the extreme. All the actors perform wonderfully in this episode, and there is quite a lot of spot-on comedy too. All part of the quirky idiosyncratic experience that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Who Are You? deals with body-swapping, and gives two important cast-members the opportunity to step into the other one's shoes. Both perform great, and it is a wonderful character-building episode for one of them, but unfortunately I can't say more without ruining the surprise.

Superstar is one of my favorite episodes in the show. Dealing with an awesome "what if?" scenario, it manages to play both comedy and drama, while at the same time giving a completely obscure character - the short looser Jonathan (Danny Strong), introduced in Season 2 - the spotlight to such a ridiculous extent that even the opening is re-cut to feature him there.

Restless is another gorgeous piece of art. The last episode of Season 4 is not a climax, but an epilogue (the ending of the current story-arc happens in episode 21 - Primeval), and it is entirely a dream sequence, or rather - four dream sequences, as Willow, Xander, Giles and Buffy fall into an unnatural sleep in Buffy's house. There is no way to describe the utter wackiness of the episode. Restless is weird and confusing, both alluding to the future and playing with characters' hidden fears.

Willow's dream is a Twin Peaks-esque vision - complete with the heavy red curtains - of all her friends playing roles in a surreal version of Death of a Salesman. Buffy's Chicago outfit with the short black hair and provocative femme-fatale/burlesque dancer dress is especially memorable, as well as her dazzling monologue:

But what else could I expect from a bunch of low-rent, no-account hoodlums like you? Hoodlums, yes, I mean you and your friends, your whole sex. Throw 'em in the sea for all I care. Throw 'em in and wait for the bubbles. Men, with your groping and spitting. All groin, no brain. Three billion of ya' passin' around the same worn out urge. Men... with your sales.

Half of the dialogue in this episode is severely symbolic and/or meaningful, and the other half is complete nonsense. I think it's easy to judge where this particular piece of brilliance falls. However, the Willow sequence shows more than anything else in the season how much she has grown up and matured since the beginning of the show. There is almost nothing in common between the nerdy clutz from Season 1, and the gorgeous self-aware and confident woman that she is in Season 4. Everybody else's dreams hold wicked cool elements, and in each and every one of them is featured the Man With the Cheese (I wear my cheese. It doesn't wear me.) who Whedon admits to have put there purely for absurdity's sake.

In its entirety, Season 4 is a step down in quality from Season 3. However, it holds many pearls of character development, as well as few of the best Buffy episodes ever made. And as much as fans might be bothered by Buffy and Riley's relationship, there is still a lot to love here. Plus - witches. "Sometimes I think about two women doing a spell. And then I do a spell by myself." That is to say, even at its weaker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still many laps ahead of most every other show, doing drama better than dramas, comedy better than comedies, and entertainment as art in the best possible way - with a big heart.

8/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 3

It is time for the Senior year of Sunnydale Class of '99. But after the events in Season 2, Buffy has been expelled, and nobody even knows where she is. And even when she gets back, can things be the same again? But personal problems are the least of her worries, as another enemy rises - one that has been with the town since its creation. And on top of that, a new Slayer arrives - the rebellious Faith, whose priorities aren't even close to Buffy's.

Season 3 is a self-aware and intelligent piece of entertainment, showing beautifully how Buffy has blossomed into maturity. It lacks the emotional impact of the previous season, as the threat of the Mayor (portrayed fantastically by Harry Groener) is not nearly as personal as that of Angelus was. At the same time though, the overall quality of the episodes - and especially the stand-alones - is immensely higher. Very few episodes fall flat, and there are many brilliant examples of genius story-telling on some of which I'll focus later. The season also introduces the "Dark Slayer" Faith (Eliza Dushku, who also plays the main character in Whedon's latest TV show, Dollhouse) - a tainted but sobering mirror for Buffy, showing the ways her calling could go wrong. Other new additions to the cast are the ex-vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caulfield) who will play a major part in later seasons, as well as the new Watcher Wesley Wyndham-Price (Alexis Denisof) who is more or less a joke here, but will turn into an amazing character in Angel.

There are many themes in Season 3, but one of the most important is that of overcoming insecurity. Every character has some sort of rite of passage, and not all of them manage to get through those. Human contact is also a major theme, with the evolving relationship between Buffy and Angel, as well as the twisted father-daughter interactions of Faith and the Mayor. The topics of domestic violence, High School isolation and repressed anger also have their own episodes. Mayor Richard Wilkins III himself is one of the most brilliantly conceived bad guys in the Buffyverse. His schizophrenic jumps between a stable pillar of society and American values, and a sick maniac wishing to rule the world are both hilarious and chilling. The way he is used to actually tell the main characters all the important painful truths they keep denying is beautifully realized.

This is a season that marks the ending of a lot of staples for the show, and clearly shows that Joss Whedon is not only not afraid to shake the status quo, but actually revels in shaking it. Season 3 sees the characters graduate High School to enter a new stage in their lives. It also marks the departure of two fan-favorites - Angel and Cordelia - who were transferred to the spin-off Angel (whose first season corresponds with Buffy Season 4). Angel and Buffy's relationship had run its course and it was a smart choice for him to get his own show, but it is a surprise how much Cordelia is missed in further seasons, despite her amazing character development in Angel. In any other TV show, she would have been a cardboard cliche, a walking joke for the main cast to stamp on. Not in Buffy. Charisma Carpenter's talented acting and Whedon's inspired screen-writing turned Cordelia into a multilayered and intricate character, one that was essential for the show, and loved by virtually everyone.

Like I said earlier, Season 3 has the highest overall episode quality so far. After the ponderous prologue of Anne and the rather long-winded Dead Man's Party, the season quickly finds its pace, and by its epic ending in the two-part Graduation Day, it has soared to really impressive heights. Highlights include the amazing Band Candy that takes a cliche idea - adults acting as teenagers - to show a really disturbing side of both Giles and Buffy's mother Joice. It is a remarkable character-building piece, and insanely funny too. Lovers Walk sees practically ALL relationships suffer some sort of blow, and gives us a drunken guest-starring Spike who has been dumped by Drusila after the events of Season 2. The Wish - one of the two best episodes in Season 3 - is a genius "what if" episode that sees Sunnydale turned into a vampire play-ground where Buffy never came. It also introduces Vamp Willow - a kinky, sadistic and bi-curious creature of evil self-indulgence that Alyson Hannigan portrays with an obvious delight. The Zeppo is a masterfully crafted exercise in the mechanics of point of view, showing Xander take the spot-light while in the background the gang faces their BIGGEST CHALLENGE EVER!!!... of which we see nothing and couldn't care less. Easily the best episode in the season, it is also among the best in the entire show. The post-modern twist of plot-structure is nothing short of brilliant and while Xander's story is intricate and engaging, everybody else's problems are made to look cliched and over-the-top melodramatic. The Prom gives us Season 3's most touching moment, which - surprisingly - has nothing to do with relationships, but is instead one of recognition and appreciation as Buffy sacrifices her own happiness so that her friends may have an unforgettable Prom.

Season 3 had some problems during its original airing. Two episodes were postponed, one for a good reason, and the other - as a knee-jerk panic reaction. The former is Earshot, in which the main story-line revolves around an implied plan to commit mass murder in the school. As its airing turned out to coincide with a real High School massacre in Colorado, it was postponed. Actually, that is rather lucky, since if it were aired just a bit earlier, Buffy would have become one of the main targets in the pop-culture witch-hunt that inevitably follows every such tragedy (ironically, this tendency is touched upon in another episode of the season - Gingerbread). Still, even though it was more or less understandable, Earshot was not focused on High School violence, but on isolation and fear - the two concepts that are eating at the core of every High School student everywhere, but seem to be especially prominent in American culture. The joke is on WB though - they were so worried about Earshot and its implied student massacre, that they completely ignored The Prom that actually had a student trying to kill all his class-mates. But I guess student massacre is ok, as long as it's Hellhounds and not guns...

Graduation Day, Part II was also postponed, since it dealt with a huge and violent showdown happening in school and involving students. As many critics pointed out at the time, it was ridiculous to do that to a show such as Buffy - one of the very few TV series to actually portray teens as serious and reliable people who strive to do the right thing and are guided by a sense of integrity and responsibility. WB only managed to become a laughing stock with their fear of touching upon a sensitive subject, while everyone else saw that to postpone an episode that is all about making the right choices and facing consequences borders on the surreal.

Despite those bumps in its way though, Season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a glorious piece of TV art, and the best of the first three seasons. It marks the ending of an era in the Buffyverse and is as sure-footed as a TV show could ever be in this age of censorship and sensitivity issues. And even if it lacks something of the punch of the Angelus-Buffy drama from the previous season, its overall quality is so great, that it rises head and shoulders above any competition.

10/10

Non-fiction: The Complete Slayer - Keith Topping

I have never been a huge fan of official guides to movies and TV shows. They are usually filled with completely pointless trivia and inconsequential facts, and rarely touch on the deeper and more interesting aspects of the work. Buffy's guides are, unfortunately, not an exception to this rule, and even though the show itself is overflowing with subtext, symbolism and interesting themes, the three parts of The Watcher's Guide offer not nearly enough insight into the minds of Joss Whedon and the rest of the people responsible for this amazing work of art.

Unofficial guides are riskier though. Some of them can be so devastatingly amateurish as to make you wish self-publication was punishable by death, and publishing books required an officially sanctioned IQ test. And yet sometimes an exception appears - one that proves that a truly dedicated intelligent fan could always do a better job than any "professional" (a similar case could be made for anime fansubbers VS official subs). Case in point - Keith Topping and his "unofficial and unauthorized" guide Slayer.

Keith Topping is a British writer and journalist who has written a huge number of movie and TV show guides as well as other media- and fan-fiction related literature. His first Buffy guide - Slayer: The Totally Cool Unofficial Guide to Buffy - comes out in 2000 and covers the first three seasons of the show. Since then every subsequent season has seen either a revised version of the guide, or its own separate entry, until in 2004 Virgin Books released The Complete Slayer - a hefty Lord of the Rings-sized volume that features each and every episode of the show, as well as the unfortunate movie that preceded it.

Now, I realize that at first glance the words "episode guide" do not evoke excitement. But that is only if you think "official". In Mr. Topping's case we're talking about a book that is easily one of the most engaging and informative Buffy-related non-fiction works ever written. Each entry in The Complete Slayer begins with the airing dates for US and UK, the Director, Writer, Story and Cast credits and a quick synopsis. They are then divided into separate labels that mark different aspects of the show, most of which are basically recap. Some of those are featured in every episode, and some are specific to only a particular one.

Dreaming (As Blondie Once Said) is Free - this entry features in every episode where a dream is presented or even mentioned. Nothing much to say, but it's actually pretty cool that someone paid attention at the fact that Buffy did such amazing dream sequences.

Dudes and Babes - as is probably obvious - deals with all romantic/dating aspects of the episode.

Authority Sucks! - every attempt at controlling the Scooby Gang from an authority figure of any sort.

Mom's Apple Pie - aspects of traditional American life, either simply portrayed, or used for a setting of a catastrophe.

Denial, Thy Name is Joice depicts the many amazing ways in which Buffy's mother manages to fool herself into believing that everything is ok with the world. Funny thing is, this label sometimes changes names if another character is particularly prone to denying reality in that particular episode.

It's a Designer Label! - one of the more pointless (to me) entries, which focuses on the clothes - good or bad - that characters wear in the episode.

References is pretty much self-explanatory, although I have to point out that the author has missed some. However, with a show that pop-culturey it's impossible not to.

Geek-Speak goes for the most Whedonesque lines in the episode, particularly those that reference comic books and other geeky stuff. For obvious reasons focused around Xander and some particular characters in Season 6.

Valley Speak - the slang used in the show. Or, as Whedon puts it, "twisting the English language until it cries in pain".

I Just Love Your Accent focuses on Buffy and her friends making fun of the way Giles speaks, and anything British in general.

Bitch! quotes the most outrageous, mean, snarky and sarcastic lines. Usually from the girl-cast, but not always.

Awesome! - the scenes that most impressed Mr. Topping. They are usually pretty close to my own favorites, although he seems more focused on action than me.

Cigarettes and Alcohol - another uninspiring label which - very much like the fashion one - lists the usage and mentions of - wait for it! - cigarettes and alcohol!

The Drugs Don't Work - Same as the above, for... I'm not even gonna say it.

Don't Give Up The Day Job appears when a member of the cast or crew is or has been known for a different kind of profession.

A Little Learning Is a Dangerous Thing - whenever some form of studying is being done or mentioned.

The Conspiracy Starts at Home Time is featured whenever some mystery is alluded to, that has something to do with a bigger story-arc.

'You Might Remember Me From Such Movies and TV Series As...' - the most famous roles of guest stars in that particular episode.

Logic, Let Me Introduce You To This Window is by far my favorite section in every episode (because I am a very mean person), and it is present in every single one. It lists all the logical errors, as well as shooting mistakes and all kinds of mishaps detectable in the episode.

Quote/Unquote - the most notable lines. Only, not my personal favorites usually. It's strange how the author rarely picks the quotes that I've liked the most.

Notes is my other favorite. Before delving into listing of facts we've learned from the episode, its first paragraph is always dedicated to Keith Topping's personal (and usually very informed) opinion of the episode from the point of view of professional reviewing - plot structure, ideas, acting, all that joy. It's surprising how often his opinion matches mine there.

Those are the most commonly appearing entries. There are others like Critique (which covers the media reaction for particularly important episodes) or Soundtrack (when there's a memorable song), but most are too rare to list.

In the end, it's obviously a matter of which - if any - of those things interests you. I have to admit that I skip some of them, like Designer Label, Day Job or You May Know Me... But I find most of the others very interesting, and I really enjoy reading the entry of each episode that I've just seen. It's a habit that I formed around the time I started watching Angel (Topping's Hollywood Vampire is the Angel version of Slayer, and I'll review it some other time). Now, as I rewatch Buffy, I'm finding the guide particularly useful in making the most interesting and fun parts of the show stick in my memory. I'd recommend it to everyone who is a fan of the show or is just now planning to start watching it. It's a great read, and extremely helpful, as Mr. Topping has obviously spent an incredible time on every detail of every episode. Plus, all that encyclopedic information that some people inexplicably care about.

9.5/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 2

Summer is over, and Buffy and her friends start their Junior year in High School. But all is not well in Sunnydale, and the Hellmouth attracts two of the most dangerous vampires alive - the irreverent bad boy Spike and his demented lover - the seer Drusila. And even that threat pales in comparison to what awaits Buffy. An enemy much older and much more sinister... and also much closer to her heart.

Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is perhaps the most defining one in the whole show. It introduces so much of what makes the Buffyverse great, I don't even know where to begin. Many fan-favorites make their first appearance here. Let's start with Spike. Everybody loves Spike. Originally meant to be a one-episode villain, James Marsters' performance of the British vampire who shows little respect for propriety and the Ancient Traditions Of Evilness, but a lot of love for good old-fashioned human fun, was so evocative that Whedon decided to keep him as the season's baddie and even beyond. And knowing how that character develops through the seasons, I think everyone should be deeply grateful for that decision. Although not nearly as important a character (she makes another appearance in Angel), Drusila is no less memorable than her boyfriend, and Juliet Landau's powerful depiction of the completely crazy and twisted psychic - in turns vulnerable and innocent, and depraved and deeply erotic - is absolutely superb. Other new addition to the cast is Seth Green's adorable Oz - Willow's new monosyllabic love interest who has a couple of secrets of his own.

But the highlight of the season is, undoubtedly, the return of Angelus. Sure, we already know that Angel's souless alter-ego was a sadistic monster that put most other vampires to shame, but it is not until Angelus emerges from within the tortured do-gooder that we realize how horrific - and insanely charming - he really is. The mindfrak he proceeds to inflict upon Buffy is nothing short of brilliant, and the most powerful theme in the season, as it shows that Buffy the Vampire Slayer can do adult drama just as well as smart comedy. Tragedy strikes more than once - real tragedy, measurable in real-world pain - and it is in Season 2 that we realize this is not going to be a show of easy victories and cloudless skies. Characters suffer horribly, and they grow or are broken by this suffering. Even when the day is saved, you are left wondering whether the sacrifice was worth it. Adult themes are used freely, and in more than one instance the problems that characters have to deal with, are less than comfortable and quite real to the teen-age audience of the show.

Of course, this beautiful television achievement would be impossible without the superb performances of the cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar is amazing in her depiction of the Slayer's drama - she is surrounded by friends as no other Slayer has been before, and it gives her great strength, but it is also a weakness, and in the end, she is always alone. Anthony Head is also spot-on in his role of Giles, Buffy's Watcher. Season 2 shows a lot more of Giles' past and his personality, and - as is always the case with Whedon - we find that appearances can and usually are deceiving. James Marsters doesn't do a lot of character development, as in Whedonspeak "lack of soul" equals not only "lack of conscience" (for that is what it all boils down to, this soul business), but also the inability to evolve. Yet, what he has to work with, is bloody brilliant, mate! His faux Brit-accent (Marsters is California-born) is hilarious and he exudes so much sex appeal and raw coolness that no heart is safe from him. David Boreanaz is by far the weakest link when it comes to acting (at least for now), but Angel/Angelus' role is so cool that he couldn't possibly botch it.

A lot of relationships - romantic and otherwise - develop and change throughout the season, and another new concept is introduced through them: that every action matters and has lasting repercussions. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not a show with one-episode problems. Even the "monster of the weeek" episodes feature character development, and that is the main reason why you can never really know why so many people love the Buffyverse from just watching random episodes of it. It is also the reason why the show had a hard time acquiring new fans. You have to see the whole thing. You have to follow the characters from their fledgling beginnings in Season 1, and let them grow before your eyes. I am yet to see a TV show that comes even remotely close to the character-building that the Buffyverse has.

Still, Season 2 is hardly perfect. The rhythm is all over the place as - after the strong beginning of When She Was Bad and School Hard - we have the outrageously bad stand-alones Inca Mummy Girl and Reptile Boy, while at the end, after the horrifying tragedy of Angelus-driven Passion and the disquietingly adult themes of the ghost story I Only Have Eyes For You, the show opts for another filler - the admittedly awesome Go Fish - before finally reaching the two-episode finale Becoming.

Yet, with an overall quality as high as Buffy's, it is but a minor bump in a ride that leaves you so much in love with the show, it is sometimes hard to bear. Even knowing all the plot-twists, I found myself sniffling and trying to swallow through the lump in my throat in quite a few instances. And Season 2 is nowhere near the best seasons in the show. What it is, is the true beginning of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - the season that showed what the Buffyverse was capable of, and built the foundations for what would turn out to be one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

9/10

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 1

Words could hardly express my adoration for the "Buffyverse" (the shared world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) and my respect for its creator, Joss Whedon. It is easy to scoff at those shows, with their cheap special effects and unrealistic premises. But if one but looks with unbiased eyes, it is even easier to fall in love with their deep characters, the complex relationships between them, the underlying themes in each episode, and the brilliant dialogues. What Joss Whedon has given us with Buffy and Angel is something that has rarely, if ever, happened on TV - not just entertainment, but an experience, something which changes us, if only a little. And I really love those shows. Not with the fervor of a fanboy, but with the respect and fondness of someone who felt the characters of the Buffyverse come to life before his eyes, and become his friends, even if for a short while. See, I cared for them. And still do.

Recently I decided to rewatch the shows, and I thought I might as well express my geekness in written form, season by season. I am aware that most of you probably have either watched them, or do not care to, but for the sake of those who haven't and maybe some day would, I will review the seasons without spoilers.

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 1 we meet Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) - a 16-year old California girl who just moved into the little town of Sunnydale with her mother, after being kicked out of her school in LA for torching the gymnasium. In her first day at Sunnydale High, she meets two outcasts who will quickly become her best friends, and the core of the show's cast - science geek Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and goofy slacker Xander (Nicholas Brendon) - as well as the British librarian Mr. Giles (Anthony Steward Head), and the mysterious Angel (David Boreanaz), both of whom know entirely too much about her. Because Buffy is the Slayer - one who is born into each generation to fight vampires and the forces of darkness. And Giles is a Watcher, sent to guide and teach her. Only, Buffy doesn't really fall in line with what is expected of her, and often her teenage girl problems take precedence over world-saving. But then the Master - an ancient and powerful vampire - threatens to escape from his prison in the Hellmouth under Sunnydale (a vortex of mystical energy, which also acts as a portal to the demonic dimensions), and it is up to Buffy and her friends to stop him.

Season 1 is a tentative first step in what will be one of the greatest TV shows of all time. It is nowhere near the quality of the following seasons, but even here the traces of what is to come are visible. The first two episodes - "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "Harvest" - comprise the two parts of the pilot. After only half an hour of watching it, we feel as if we've known these characters for years, as small details are scattered all over the place, giving flesh and depth to what could easily have been card-board one-liner delivery devices.

Episodes worth mentioning are the hilariously over-the-top "Teacher's Pet" with its kitsch sexy Giant Preying Mantis slash Biology Teacher villainess, as well as "Angel", which was one of the biggest shockers of the 90s (its plot-twist regrettably long since ruined by Angel's pop-culture popularity). This season also offers two of the best episode endings I've seen anywhere on TV, in terms of comedic timing - those of "I, Robot... You, Jane" and "The Puppet Show". But nothing shines as bright as the season finale - "Prophecy Girl". Directed by Joss Whedon himself, it raises the overall quality of the show almost to the heights that it will reach by the end of its run. The very real drama of the Slayer who is also a very scared 16-year old girl who just doesn't want to die, is portrayed in such painful and touching manner, that if "Prophecy Girl" were the last episode in the show (as, for all its creators knew at the time, it could've been), Buffy the Vampire Slayer would still be among the best things to happen to TV in the 90s.

Fortunately for us, that was not the case. As for Season 1 though, it is a brilliant, if a bit childish and unsure beginning, and apart from a one or two mediocre episodes ("The Pack" springs to mind, even though it shows a very cool "dark side" of one of the main characters) it is well worth the time.

7/10