I decided to follow through and review the seasons of the two shows. Not sure if you guys are going to read them or not, but I had fun writing this article! I plan on doing season 2's review in about a week. Maybe slightly more. Really depends on how much free time I have. Anyways, review of season 1:
In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.
This opening narration explains the premise behind what would become one of the most innovative television shows of all time. After being made into a film, Joss Whedon decided to take his baby idea to television, and there is where Buffy truly came to life.
The show has many themes, moments, characters, and episodes that I want to go over, so I decided to do a series of articles on the series. But, what made this show so unique and resonate in my mind to the point where I wanted to write a detailed review of it? In these articles, I am going to tackle each season of the show and highlight various themes, moments, character growth, and the pros and cons of each season. I will also be doing this for the eventual spin-off show, Angel, but I'll get more into that show much later. There are not many shows that have inspired me to do anything like this in prior years, but as I get more and more into my endeavors as an artist, I like to post my thoughts on things I truly admire creatively and hope to draw inspiration from. I would also like to note that I have not read interviews with Whedon or heard the DVD summaries of each season. I am trying to keep my thoughts my own and not let the creators influence my opinion.
All that said, let's start this series of articles with my review and analysis on the 1st season:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Chronicles the coming of age of 16 year old high school student, Buffy Summers, who has just moved to Sunnydale, California. However, Sunnydale is no ordinary town and Buffy is no ordinary student. Sunnydale sits on a hellmouth, where the abnormal and evil are drawn in their efforts to destroy humanity, and Buffy is the vampire slayer, who is charged to guard the world from the forces of darkness. While new characters come to help Buffy during her struggle on the hellmouth, her core are her two friends, the highly intellegent Willow and loyal Xander, as well as her assigned watcher and school librarian, Rupet Giles. In her first year at Sunnydale, Buffy must learn what being a slayer means and the pressures that come with the mantle. Her role in the world is even more obscured when she meets and falls for a man named Angel, who is a vampire. However, time to grow into her role is short as a very old and powerful vampire called the Master works toward his freedom from an underground prison so he can open the hellmouth.
The first season of the show lasted only 12 episodes and is the shortest season of the show. All subsequent seasons of Buffy were 22 episodes. This season is definitely an establishing season. While the show does a lot of unique things for a show of this nature, it also keeps itself simple in other ways. The show is fantastic at balancing humor and drama. The show also has the amazing ability to shock you. In one episode, several students get possessed by the spirits of hyenas. These possessed characters go on to maul the school's pet pig and principal to death! Most shows wouldn't dare to go that far and would end up having someone save the mascot or principal at the last moment, but this show doesn't and in doing so, it makes you question what will happen next. It know when to stick to formula and when to break it, and that talent in balancing is very apparent early on in the show.
But, before you can expand upon a universe, you first need to care about the characters in the first place, and Buffy has some great characters:
Buffy is one of the best female protaganists ever on television. The character is messianic in her struggle to live up to her label as the chosen one, but she balances this out by being human. We find out in the finale of the first season that there is a prophecy that says a slayer will fight the Master and die, and the moment Buffy learns this best illustrates her character to me. In a show like Smallville, Clark will just toss himself in the fight without thinking. This is the normal reaction on television. But not for Buffy. While Buffy shows plenty of maturity in the season by putting herself in harms way and taking the pressure of her role and seeming to grow, we see her human side come out when she tries fighting tears and simply asks Will it hurt? before trying to quit entirely. Eventually, she decides to fight the Master head on, but that hesitation is more human, more creative, and shows that while Buffy has to grow up faster than a normal person due to her destiny, she is still just a 16 year old kid. Throughout the season, this balance is well done. From Buffy's attempt to be a cheerleader to her constant trying to jerk her responsibilites to be on dates, we see a human side to Buffy. She's not the perfect hero. This helps us to connect with her, yet believe that she is strong enough to pull through at the same time. In shows like Smallville, Clark's flaws are normally covered up by the weakness of other characters to point out his flaws or he'll have some random revelation that makes him a better person, but when Buffy screws up, there are no excuses and Buffy grows much more natural. For a first season, our hero gets some very strong material.
Next character I want to discuss is Giles. Giles is on one hand a very cliché character, yet at the same time unique. He is that character who trains the hero to be great, but he is a bit more goofy and fun. In most training sessions, Giles ends up getting thrashed by the inexperienced Buffy. When this season begins, Giles is watcher to the slayer. He takes it upon himself to train the slayer. But, as the season goes on, we see Giles change. In the finale, Giles actually doesn't want Buffy to confront the Master. He cares too much about Buffy to let her die. If that same thing happened in say the 4th episode, I think Giles would have sent Buffy out to die with no regrets. But, his relationship to Buffy as well as Willow and Xander becomes more that of a father than a teacher. This shift is done very subtly, yet seemlessly. We also see a fun side to Giles when they introduce his love interest, Ms. Calender. This relationship is both fun and cute. While Giles is all about his books and ancient artifacts and such, Ms. Calender is much more today and into the use of computers and such. Watching Giles on a computer is like watching my dad try and use one. It's hilarious! His endless awkwardness when he is around her, like the high school kids he is always making comments about is also a bright spot on the season. It brings out the lighter side of the librarian in spades!
While the first season is not the best material for either Xander and Willow, they are important. In this season, both characters are fairly cliché. Willow is the over-the-top nerdy teenager no one wants to date and Xander is the wisecracker of the group. Large portions of the season are dedicated to Willow and Xander trying to hook up with their desired character. Xander wants Buffy, who sees him only as a friend, and Willow wants Xander, who only sees her as a friend. Willow and Xander get great material in later seasons, but this season is mostly taking the not special teens and bringing them to the table with Buffy and Giles. By season's end, Willow and Xander are all about demon fighting and being there to help Buffy in any capacity they can. While cliché and done before, it was a necessary step for both characters.
The first season of Buffy would also be the initiation into one of television's all-time most famous romances with the introduction of Angel. Angel is a vampire, but he is a special vampire. Back in the early days, Angelus was one of the most violent and evil vampires ever in history, But, he upset some gypsies who cursed Angel with something that vampires have removed once they're turned: a soul. Now, Angel remembers every evil act he did and it horrifies him forever. Angel is a great character, but much like many things in this season, we mostly only get the foundation of what comes later. Most of the romance is Willow or Xander asking Buffy how things are with Angel or if they're dating etc. We don't get many of the classic moments between the characters in this season. Angel mostly broods in shadowy places and tells Buffy she is in danger. However, we are given Angel's backstory and the character's mystery does capture the audience early on.
The last of the main characters that make up the core of the show is Cordelia Chase. Cordelia is nothing new. She is the epitome of the in-crowd of the high school, she is rich, snooty, hot, etc. Thus, she makes it her job to be a *****e to Buffy and her friends. Cordelia gets layers later in the season when she needs to ask for the gang's help, but the show never makes her one of the gang in this season! While Cordelia recognizes them by season's end for their help, she still looks down on them. That helps make Cordelia distinct. Cordelia is also a fun character due to her bluntness and how she always seems to say the wrong thing. Even when she is trying to help. Without that quirk, Cordelia may not have been a mainstay in the show.
Of all the cliches of the first season, the Master is the biggest one. While I like the Master as a character, he is a character we have seen many times. He is the super powerful boss man who bosses everyone around, everyone fears, grooms an evil apprentice, eventually is freed, then gets owned. He's a fairly simple charcter at heart; he wants to open the hellmouth to be evil. Not much more to him. But, he does serve his purpose in giving us a looming threat that links what happens in the season together and makes us afraid for our fair heroes. Plus, Mark Metcalf does a great job in the role. He also suffers from I was beaten far too easily syndrome. He does kill Buffy, but when she comes back and fights his again, he seems to be less powerful and dies easy. I feel he should have put up more of a fight, especially considering he actually kills Buffy in.
There are other characters introduced like Darla, Buffy's mother Joyce, and others but they're not as imporatant to the show or as layered yet so I'm not going to into them right now. Joyce is te average mom and Darla is an evil vampire who just happens to be connected to Angel. Darla's shining moments come later in the franchise. Same with Joyce, who's finest hours come in the second, third, and fifth seasons.
The strongest thing season one does is establish the family element of the show. The core group feels very much like a family, and the characters all play off each other nicely and have unique interactions amongst each other. Scenes featuring Giles and Xander don't play out the same way as scenes with Giles and Willow, and the roles each character takes on in relation to another character is well handled. More than anything else in the show, I feel that this is what sucks you into the world of Sunnydale. This show could have the same premise, but if the chemistry of the characters was off, I don't feel this show would have been nearly as strong. The relationships are also very consistant. We never see a change in the dynamic between the characters without it making sense. You always see why things have changed. Clearly, characterization was the primary concern Whedon had in crafting this show, and this is the heart and soul of what makes this machine run.
This season has many standard episodes and it definitely is trying to find what the show is. That said, the season does have a few standouts:
-Welcome to the Hellmouth and The Harvest: These are the first 2 episodes of the show, and they kind of make 1 episode. It introduces us to the world of Buffy and is a great view especially when you see the rest of the show and how far the characters come afterward.
-Angel: This is the episode where the mysterious Angel is revealed to be a vampire and we learn about his curse. It's the first truly great material we get for Angel.
-Prophecy Girl: The season finale sees the rise of the Master, the opening of the Hellmouth, and Buffy die! It's very eventful and if the rest of the season doesn't hook you, this episode will. It has very rich writing and characterization. Despite the fact the Master gets beaten way too easy, it is a great episode and has great build up!
Season 1 has its cliches and problems, but it manages to stand on its own creatively and lay the foundation for potentially strong material. The first season of any show is normally the weakest, so that is not much of a complaint for me. I was able to get engaged in what was going on with the show as well as ponder what is to come.
Season 1 rating 3.5/5
Strong first effort
