Buffy, la cazavampiros

If seasons 6 and 7 of this seven season show had held up as well as the previous ones I'd give this show an enthusiastic ten. Don't watch the movie and believe you understand the dynamics of the TV show - you won't. This show is a deeply layered exploration of the human condition - man's ability to change for better and worse, the power of forgiveness, the human conscience and its meaning, and how revenge or a lust for power can turn a human into as bad a monster as any real demon.

Season one was a short one and a trial one for the show, thus don't expect that much depth here. These 12 episodes introduce the main characters for the duration of the series - Buffy - the one girl in all the world with the strength to do battle with demons, her friends Xander and Willow, and her "watcher" - or mentor - Giles, as well as at first reluctant ally Cordelia Chase and the initially mysterious Angel who both exit at the end of season three for the related show "Angel". The episodes are fun and in many ways a foreshadowing of what is to come, but each episode pretty much stands alone.

Seasons two and three go together and are the last two years of Buffy's high school experience. She and her friends graduate at the end of the third season. These two seasons along with season five comprise the best three seasons of television you'll ever see. As for the season two finale - "Becoming" - about the best episode of TV ever with one of the most heartbreaking choices ever presented to a 17 year old girl who must save the world but is, after all, also a 17 year old girl. This is where Joss Whedon introduces his "story arc" pattern for seasons of Buffy. Each season has a "Big Bad" - a nemesis that Buffy and her friends must defeat to save a world unaware of the danger.

Season four was a rather weak one, mainly because creator Joss Whedon was distracted by the creation of his spin-off show "Angel", all about Buffy's love leaving Sunnydale and moving to LA. Of course, it would also be expected that moving the show from a high school to college setting would throw the show off balance for at least a few episodes. One stroke of brilliance in season 4 - adding the vampire Spike as a permanent member of the cast. One not so brilliant stroke - IMHO - adding Riley as Buffy's college boyfriend. He always seemed too self-righteous and imperious for his own good. Nobody wants to eat spinach at every meal if you get my drift.

Season five was a return to the brilliance of seasons two and three. Buffy has two real family crises - she suddenly has a sister that nobody seems to notice was not around previously and her mother becomes seriously ill. The Big Bad this year is an uber-strong woman-like creature - Glory - who has a penchant for high fashion and stealing the essence of what holds a person's mind together as nourishment. She's in search of a mysterious key that will unlock the door into her previous dimension from which she has been exiled. Unfortunately, if she succeeds, it will also unleash hell on earth.

During season six, Joss Whedon was again working on another TV series - "Firefly". Thus after seven episodes he pretty much left the writing duties to Marti Noxon. Unfortunately, Marti tried to make this season all about an experience she had with a bad-boy college boyfriend and it made for some most cringeworthy episodes of Buffy. The writing suffered too as it became a bit stiff versus the crisp clever lines that just flowed off the cast's tongues previously. However two of my favorite episodes are in this season - "Tabula Rasa" and "Once More With Feeling". The first has the gang reacting to a spell that causes them to completely forget who they are and their relationship to one another. The second episode is a musical. Trust me, they both work exceedingly well.

Season seven has the theme "Back to the Beginning". This has more to do with the name of the Big Bad who is supposed to be the biggest bad of them all but mainly due to rather truncated writing seemed rather lacking in the evil department to the point of being boring. What probably does the most to break up the rhythm of Buffy this season is the arrival of a dozen or so "Potential Slayers" who arrive in Sunnydale with Giles. None of these girls are slayers yet. For that to happen the current slayer must die. However, all are potential slayers in the sense that the next slayer will come from their ranks.

I'm sorry to be so vague about the details per season, but I don't want to spoil any of it for you. Watch season one to get a feel for the main characters and then watch season two for the beginning of a storyline that will suck you in for all of the other seasons.

I absolutely loved this show! I first watched this years ago and every few years rewatch the show and each time it's such a treat. While not everything holds up, a lot of the basic themes of the show are timeless. Sarah Michelle Geller is such a talented actress.

Does anyone else have to defend their love of this show?

I'm a 50 year old British straight man, married with a kid ....and apparently I'm not supposed to like this. According to my 18 year old son anyway.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe the title of the show puts people off.

This is a stand out show.

This show has some of the most creative episodes, characters and moral dilemmas I've ever seen. The show is terrific entertainment but the craftsmanship and the way it is structured is still so very strong... and often imitated.

This show deserves to be held in much higher regard.

There hasn't been anything like Buffy since it aired, and so it lives on, and so it should.

Truly wonderful experience... although no-one believes me.... in my house anyway.

Their loss :-)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, its misguided title put aside, is what I consider, and millions of other devoted fans believe to be a genuine and purely astonishing work of achievement in television history. With creative and daring story lines and terrific character development, the show that began its run on the WB as a mid-season replacement, became a dazzling cult hit resulting in a secure fan base and merchandising for as far as the eye can see.

The show follows a young girl endowed with the ancient powers of the slayer, one girl who fights the forces of darkness, battling alone, relieving the world of vampires and demons. In Buffy Summers' case, after moving to Sunnydale with her single mother, she befriends two loving, but out of place peers, Willow and Xander, who bravely march along side of her. Together, along with her watcher, Giles, they encounter creatures of darkness and strange mystical occurrences, which as a result, draw them closer together and occasionally, set them apart.

On occasion, Buffy is mistaken as a foolish, sci-fi television show which should probably be aired during the depressing Saturday afternoon time slot. But actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. A surprising element to Buffy is that the monsters and demons are a relatively small part of what the show actually stands for. From first love, life, death, sexual experimentation, and self identity crises – Buffy chronicles what it is like to be young person growing up in an overly mature world – with monsters! Between a slayer, a lesbian witch, a carpenter, and a werewolf – anything is possible and welcomed in the Buffy world. With the imaginative and extremely innovative writing of the show's creator Joss Whedon, along with the most intelligent and skillful writing staff that the biz has ever encountered, they were able to produce many groundbreaking episodes including "Hush", "The Body", "The Gift", "Becoming part 2", "Seeing Red", "Conversations with Dead People", "Grave", and "Chosen" – sadly I cannot continue this list for there is not enough space.

Without further ado, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is and will always be an incredible show. If you haven't had the privilege of watching this show, check your local listings for reruns or rent or even buy the entire series on DVD. Without a doubt, you will fall in love with the characters and stories, and by the time you finish the first season you will have welcomed a new family into your lives – sweet and sometimes muddled Buffy, clever and endearing Willow, faithful Xander, perceptive and paternal Giles. This show will linger in our hearts for eternity, and will go on to influence generations of intellectual and audacious writing in television.

I only started to watch Buffy recently, 20 years after the first episode was aired, got to say I am very impressed. Now remember this is 2017, people are used to 1080p streaming, Blu-ray / 4K video, and HDMA sound quality, 480i, 2 channel sound and 1.33:1 screen ratio are simply not going to cut it anymore. However, in this case, despite the huge technical disadvantages, Buffy still stands out as a serious and entertaining show, one of the best of its kind. The screen-play are well written, characters well developed, dialogues are actually interesting and thought provoking, plus great acting all around. Joss Whedon is a real genius.

Due to the age of the show, I don't know if they will ever release a Blu-ray set, but I can only imagine what a tremendous joy it'd be to watch it on Blu-ray (again). Buffy really sets the standard and example for today's Hollywood, if there is show you can relate to 20 years later, then you know it is not the picture quality or special effects, but the story and acting that speak to you. Comparing this to some of modern day shows, it is clear to me that technical advances don't always improve the quality of a show.