Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy is series that was not only consistently good, but a series that grew better over time. The first season is good, but not fantastic. It was shorter because the WB was not sure if they would have a viewing base and only had 12 episodes. The second season developed the characters and you began to see the magic of the show. As the series progresses, I am astounded by the writing, directing, and acting. Joss Whedon is a genius of the camera and master of the pen, and anyone who argues with me is fooling themselves. The cast, as well as the characters, matures over time and become living, breathing people that you believe.

In short, if you are considering watching this show, I highly recommend you watch all of the first and second season before making any judgements. Frankly, this is my favorite story of all time. It transcends the TV, and beats out most books, movies, and other TV shows. This show is beautiful.

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 :-)

If I'm having a bad day I can always count on Buffy to cheer me up (or, even if it's one of those cases were I just need a good cry I can always count on Buffy for that as well). It's the perfect blend of so many different qualities...it's humour, action, romance and just incredibly well written, believably flawed characters. I'm not exactly sure where all the haters came from, it's honestly seems to me that this is a case of judging a show by it's title.

There's little I can say about Buffy that won't become redundant, there is not much to find fault with. Sure it's got it's bad episodes, bad story arcs just like any show. But what kept me coming back with the razor sharp wit and characters that became like a family to me.

This is a beautifully written show and if you can make it past the goofy title, fantastic premise and (for many people) the campy first season (You'll grow to love the camp upon re-visiting it) you'll discover one of the best show's in recent memory.

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.

It is so hard to believe it's been so long since this wonderful program first graced our television sets. Even harder to believe that I didn't get hooked until the fifth season.

I knew of it's existence, of course, but I thought what a lot of people did. "Buffy? C'mon... Buffy?!? The...VAMPIRE slayer??". So I discounted it until I was flipping around many, many channels of garbage and stopped on either Spike (the channel) or FX and paused because it was the most interesting thing on.

The episode was Listening to Fear, and although I thought it was a bit hokey, I was intrigued and began to watch regularly. The series was still airing new episodes at the time and even though I wanted to watch those, I wanted to have the entire experience before the finale. As I moved through season five, they aired the final episode and it took all my will not to watch.

Cable television did what cable television does, so at the end of the fifth season, they wrapped and began airing from episode one. I was hooked. No... that's not quite right. You get hooked on "things". Buffy was not... is not "a thing". This "mere" television show and it's wondrous cast of constantly developing characters were real. Honest. They were family, as many have said before.

I miss them all terribly, even though I still see or hear them it's not the same. I watched Repo: The Genetic Opera and I saw Giles. I watched Scooby Doo and saw Buffy. How I Met Your Mother? Willow.

Honestly, this wasn't just a good or even great show. It was an important show. The genius flowed down from Joss and permeated the beings of everyone who worked on the program. As much as I would love to see them all in character once more, I hope it never happens, because magic only happens once and even Joss could not top what he's already gifted the world with.

All I can say is, to Joss all the way down to "Best Boy" or the catering service, thank you for the best years television has ever seen. You should all be proud.