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Thursday 22 November 2012

An Ode to Buffy The Vampire Slayer


For those of you who were deprived during your teenage years or for those youngsters out there, here's a brief recap on the world of Buffy (just so you'll have an idea of what I'm ranting on about later in the post):
Buffy is the story of a teenage girl who discovers she has supernatural powers which she has been given in order to fight vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. As you do. There's only one Slayer in each generation but generally they die young because of the high level of violence associated with the job. Luckily Buffy has her "Watcher"- Giles, who trains her and provides her with the information she needs to defeat her enemies, thanks to his huge knowledge of the demon world. He works as a librarian in the school in Sunnydale (the library is coincidentally situated directly over the Hellmouth) where Buffy attends. She steadily builds up a close group of friends; Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia and Oz- outcasts like herself and they become the "Scooby Gang". They all have their part to play in helping Buffy; research, computer skills, fighting, spells etc to take on the various baddies. Buffy also has the misfortune to be the only slayer ever to fall in love with a vampire (a "good one" though, thanks to a gypsy curse- don't ask)- Angel, a tortured soul who happens to be fairly hot, fortunately for us viewers.
The show ran for seven years and was hugely successful, leading to Buffy magazines and comics, the current love for all things Vampire and also the less brilliant spin-off show, Angel.
Recently I saw a tweet that said that the Buffy franchise is now twenty years old (cause of that awful Luke Perry film from 1992) and even more shocking, that James Marsters, who played Spike is now 50..Aargh. I think we all feel ancient now, right? Before I need to install a stair lift, I'll get on with the many reasons why I loved, still love and would still recommend this show to everyone:

                                          Buffy being a bit of a legend
  • Buffy herself was a great character. Joss Whedon (the shows writer/director/producer, also known for the Avengers and the Cabin in the Woods) wanted to create a world where the small, weak-looking blonde girl isn't automatically the victim, as was always seen in horror movies. Buffy is seriously strong thanks to her superpowers and is a warrior, not to be messed with. She's a leader, is stronger than all the men around her and pretty much always wins. Hurrah!
  • The scooby gang were just such great characters- I LOVED Willow and Xander, Angel was gorgeous, Oz was really cool, I was fond of Giles, I even liked Cordelia and that's saying something. Kennedy and Dawn did grate on me a little bit in later episodes though..
  • It's nerd heaven. The story of a parallel world where vampires, werewolves, witches and monsters of all sorts reside is always going to draw in the nerd contingency. When I was in school, the rest of my class watched wet-blanket Dawson and his massive forehead spout his absurdly large vocabulary- instead, my friends and I were watching Buffy kick ass..far cooler. 
  • The show never took itself too seriously- it was riddled with in-jokes, clever quips and popular culture references, which was a really good thing because given some of the story lines it could easily have become a bit ridiculous if it weren't for that important element of humour.
Buffy Baddies, Hush (bottom left) about the "Gentlemen" who steal your voice so you cant scream while they take out your heart..uurgh..
  • The baddies. While each episode usually had a stand alone storyline with a demon Buffy had to fight, in each series there was also the "Big Bad", an ongoing storyline which usually culminated in the end of the world and a big Buffy v Demon showdown at the end of each series. My personal favourites were Spike, Drusilla and Angelus in Series 2 and The Mayor/Faith in Series 3. Also, the vampires and monsters all looked really scary- amazing make up and costume work. 
  • There was a great soundtrack, real bands played in The Bronze- Sunnydales nightclub. 

  • The love story between Buffy and Angel was really well done and it was absolutely heartbreaking when (SPOILER ALERT, 15 years later) he turned evil in series 2 and she had to kill him to save the world. Sniffle.
  • If you want to watch it now and like me you're heading for 30 then you'll be pleased to know that you're now officially (ahem) old enough to indulge in the Buffy drinking game- there's loads of triggers. For instance; every time Giles takes off and cleans his glasses, every time Buffy and Angel have a tearful interlude, whenever Spike uses British slang, every time someone says "wiggins" etc. There are literally hundreds more so prepare to be hammered.
There's plenty more reasons why I love Buffy, but we really would all be needing stair lifts if I kept going at this rate. What I will say, (lastly!) is that I find it really comforting to re-watch Buffy now- both cause it reminds me of good times when I was younger but also cause, as I've clearly stated, I just love the story lines and the characters. It was a really original concept at the time and to be honest, I'm not sure any TV show aimed at teens has come close to its brilliance since then. So yeah, yis can keep your Twilight and your Vampire Diaries. Nothing beats the original and best!

                                        The last ever episode..

Any other die hard Buffy fans out there?!

P.s. Apparently there's talk of a Hollywood style Buffy-reboot. I am more than unimpressed. They'll make a hames of it!!

20 comments:

  1. No need for reboots! I can't believe it's been 20 years. I remember seeing the movie first on T.V. Then getting sucked into the more iconic series. LOL, looking at the photos you've choosen, I can't help but notice the total 90's fashion vibe going on when the show first started.

    I totally relate to not understanding the draw of Dawson's Creek. I was watching Buffy and the spin off Angel, then later the awesome series Alias. More of an action girl myself.

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    1. The clothes were mostly pretty awful, looking back at it now! I used to think the stuff they wore was so cool! Ha ha ha! Yeah I watched all of Angel too, never really got into Alias though.

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  2. Not only has this made me want to watch Buffy again but you captured the shows essence wonderfully. I never understood the appeal of dawsons creek instead watching Buffy and then Angel from start to finish.

    I can still remember being in 3rd class playing Buffy, always being Willow cus she was awesome and I had the red hair down haha:)

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    1. Thank you! Yeah I loved Buffy and Angel, never really got the appeal of Dawson's creek either. Willow was always my Favourite too! :) x

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  3. I can't believe it's been 20 years either I got into buffy when I was really really young, I remember sitting around every Thursday night watching buffy and then angel,
    And no way is spike 50??!! I had a massive crush on him, I'm working my way through the boxsets as we speak, not knowing it was 20 years on mind, so good timing, I think my favourite character was willow :), although I did love Seth green as oz,
    If you haven't guessed already I am a huge!!! Fan, but I will admit I loved the angel spin off, it did get abit wierd at about the 4th series but I did really enjoy it, because it had angel and Cordy and Wesley in it, and harmony at some points aswell, so I like the fact that it was all kept together.
    The film was shockingly bad aswell but funny,
    My scariest monsters were the hush! They terrified me when I was little caz u can't scream! And my favourite episode was when they all song there way through for one Halloween,
    U forgot the saddest part, when buddy's mom died *sob*

    Ok I think I've go e abit to much :)

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    1. I know, I watched all of Buffy and most of Angel too, such good memories! I kind of stopped watching angel when all the stuff with Conor was brought in- thought it went a bit downhill then. I'm rewatching all of Buffy too at the moment- on series two! I know, it's so crazy spikes 50 and that the franchise is 20 years old!! Can't believe it! Willow was definitely my Favourite also but I loved Oz as well. Hush was terrifying, so was the episode with the demon that paralysed Willow and then started eating her alive..uurgh. Also, really sad when Joyce died- and Angel and Tara too!
      Xx

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  4. This post made my day!!! I was obsessed with Buffy to put it mildly! I even had a Buffy calendar one year! I cannot believe James Marsters is 50! I literally gasped allowed! If I have time over the Christmas I'm definitely going to indulge in some re-runs! :)

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    1. Yay! Thank you for saying that! I was pretty obsessed too. Also can't believe he's 50, I loved spike too!! I've started rewatching my box sets since writing this, still holds up as such a great show!! x

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  5. Awww memories! I love to watch re runs of Buffy too. But I'm a twilight fan too *blush* haha x

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    1. Nothing wrong with Twilight! I'm just a die hard Buffy fan, find it hard to get into anything new with vampires! ;)

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  6. I'm SUCH a Buffy fangirl - can't believe Spike is 50!! Loved this post xo

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  7. I loveddd bufffyyyy wish tv was still as fun as this!

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    1. I know, I really don't think they've made any shows as good at this aimed at teens since :(

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  8. Great post!! I got the Buffy boxset last Christmas but only got around to watching it now! I'm half way through season 3, had to give myself a break as I went through a season and a half in like 2 days or so when sick! I'm loving it so far though!

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    1. I was the same- I was in bed sick for a couple of months at the start of the year and ended up rewatching all 7 seasons..it was too easy to just keep watching them- such an amazing show!!

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  9. I used to think SMG was the prettiest girl in the world! My room was covered in buffy posters. I think I still have the Sunnydale yearbook!!

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    1. No way!!! I remember a friend of mine in school had it, thought it was so cool! I still think she's very pretty, looking back at the clothes and make up on the show now is hilarious though!x

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  10. Yes, yes yes. My sister and I were so obsessed, we had Buffy Backpacks, the Watchers Guide, the Quizbook, the Soundtrack on tape, the magazines, the Yearbook - a shitload of overpriced "real" photos from Moviemarket, reprinted autographs - everything you could imagine. Had a huge poster of David Boreanaz on my ceiling that fell down one night and made me hyperventilate with fear. My sister & I taped the episodes, recorded them onto cassettes and wrote out the scripts. Sometimes we'd read them. Mum was always Giles. I bought a nail polish because it was named after Buffy. I whittled a stake to take a picture of aforementioned polish. Anthony Stewart Head replied to my tweet yesterday. I COULD NOT SLEEP UNTIL 2AM WITH THE EXCITEMENT. Legit serious. I want to speak in Buffyspeak forever. I am Ermagherd girl. Only with a Buffy backpack and a whittled stake and a screenprint of a tweet. Favourite line ever? "Out.For.A.Walk.Bitch." Favourite Episode? Hush, closely followed by Becoming, Pt. II which still makes me cry so much I get migraine. (bet you're sorry you asked now...) Hang on, James Marsters is FIFTY? Holy jaysus...

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    1. I know- I was ridiculously envious when I saw your tweet from Anthony Stewart Head the other day!! How absolutely lovely of him as well.
      I'm not in any way sorry I asked, I'm so delighted to find so many other life long fans, it was such a great show. I'm about to start onto series 3 of my rewatching, which I'm really looking forward to as Dopplegangland is one of my favourite episodes..although I do pretty much love them all. Oh God, Becoming Part 2, the saddest episode ever! I was so gutted back in the day when that happened, major depression in school the day after! Hush is pretty amazing alright, still freaks the bejayzus out of me. And yes, 50! I can't believe it either. Feel so old.

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