Buffy: A Caça-Vampiros

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.

People who've seen this series don't need to be told whether it's good or not, so this review is solely for the uninitiated, i.e. Someone trying to decide whether to invest the time in a seven season series. Here's what to consider.

This was rated, when originally aired, as TV-14 programming, but it is far from your typical YA drivel. It covered a full spectrum of emotional, violent, and sexual content, over its seven season arc. Ignoring the sex, and just considering the human (non-"creature") body count, I'm amazed at what the showrunners were able to get aired over the course of the series. Bottom line, there's a lot of "intense" content throughout the series, and it gets far more graphic in the latter seasons.

Any fantasy, supernatural, or SciFi series fails or succeeds on its "believability". I don't mean the plots, but instead, whether the characters project believability. If it "works", it will stem from a combination of well scripted episodes, but far more important, a cast that buys into, and fully "sells" (110%), their characters. BtVS had all of that in spades. Whether it is their witty banter, a plethora of deeply emotional scenes, or the larger story arcs of the seasons, and/or the overall series, as a whole, these characters are "all in", in terms of their commitment to the stories being told, within their "fantastical universe".

Throughout the series, there are always multiple (concurrent) story arcs in play. Some, especially toward the end, are even multi-seasonal. Certainly, simply because it is episodic, there is a "monster (or problem) of the week" feel, all through the series, but those stories are generally unique and interesting, and many of those play into the larger (and more important) story arcs.

In the first three seasons, the characters are in high school, and many of the plots revolve around that setting (but always with the fantasy-based twist), while the final four seasons move out into the adult world. We basically get to watch these characters grow up throughout the full series arc, and as alluded to earlier, the plots become increasingly more "raw/intense" as the series moves forward.

The most important thing is that, even from the first season, it is easy to become invested in the core suite of characters. And, when season two takes what seems to be a somewhat stable set of core characters, and turns their situation "on its head", you realize that you cannot count on anything being "stable", and consequently, can't really predict what might happen in subsequent episodes (which, obviously, is a "good thing", from a story-telling perspective).

Some of the later (especially season 5 and 6) story arcs are heart-wrenching, and easily some of the best "TV drama" that has ever been aired. Some of the episodes are also some of the creepiest that have ever been aired. The series is a constant mix of many different storytelling genres, which just happen to exist in the (fantasy-based) "Buffyverse". Unlike some series that fizzled out near their end (or simply got canceled), this series really reached its peak in its final three seasons, just continuously "upping the ante", until its epic finale. I own the series, and (roughly) every two or three years, I drag out the discs, and re-binge the whole thing, because of "Buffy withdrawal". It's always feels good to (yet again) watch it all play out, over the characters' seven year arc.

BtVS is "not perfect". There are some episodes that are (IMHO) duds ("Beer" comes to mind), and there is at least one story arc that I thought had a bit too much silliness, but "as a whole", it is easily one of the best TV series, and runs you through the full emotional gamut.

Bottom line, assuming that you "accept" a fantasy/SciFi premise in the first place (as you would with a "Star Trek", a "Fringe", or any similar series), then BtVS is truly a great series (for people of any age... and I'm "North of 60", as I write this), and I believe, well worth your time investment.

One major caution: The first two episodes of season 5 are a major "WTF moment". During its original airing, some viewers (literally) stopped watching the series after seeing those episodes, and also wrote online rants about their disappointment with what happens (avoid reading the episode synopses to avoid spoilers). Those episodes definitely DO leave you asking "WTF", but I would simply say that you MUST have faith, and "trust your tour guide" (i.e. The screenwriters), and settle in for the season 5 "ride", which, as I alluded to above, is an emotional roller coaster, with an "unexpected" season finale that sets up a similarly emotional season 6.

One final note, depending on where you obtain media, and/or from where you stream it, seasons 4-7 may or may not be wide-screen. The latter seasons were shot on 35mm, whereas the first three were shot on 16mm. Even though the entire series aired in the old (narrow) 1:1.33 (original NTSC TV) aspect ratio, and even though Joss Whedon argues that the whole series should be seen that way, I respectfully disagree. I always relish getting to Season 4, where (with my UK DVD versions) the whole series opens up, and fills up the full 16x9 (modern) wide screen. Scenes, and "people", that would have been partially "cropped" (or shifted) in the narrow format, are simply seen "in full".

So, hopefully some of the above is useful, if you are considering the series. It is definitely a unique experience.

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 :-)

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.