Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I am a great fan of the american TV-show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I didn't watch it when it first came, but have been a fan for a couple of years now!

Ironically, the first episode I ever saw was the famous musical episode from season six, "Once More, With Feeling", and I loved it!! I then started watching the show from the beginning, and let's just say it didn't take many minutes before I was totally hooked! I have now seen the first four seasons of Buffy, and I must say I think it's a terrific show. The characters are very likable and realistic, the actors are extremely talented and the storylines are really captive, interesting and exciting! I like the fact that there are so many underlying themes and storylines in the episodes, it's nog just some shallow "let's-kill-monsters"-show!

[ Favourite Characters ] [ Favourite Episodes ]

FAVOURITE CHARACTERS! (or, at least some of them )

Buffy Summers
The Slayer herself, of course. It's wonderful to see her grow up during the show, to see her cope with lots of emotional problems and watch her more and more accept the dutites and responsibilities she was in fact chosen for. Buffy is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, who does a wonderful job with this part.

Rupert Giles
Buffy's British Watcher. He is a great contrast to the group of youngsters, and I like that it is revealed he's got a dark past. He seems to be so righteous and proper, but seeing that he has been meddling in things he shouldn't have gives the character another depth and makes him more realistic and interesting. Giles is excellently played by British actor Anthony Stewart Head.

Angel
The cool, dark, brooding, mystery-guy, who turns out to be a vampire with a soul! I mean, does it getter better than that?! I like Angel's development during the three years he was on the show. The Buffy-Angel storyline is terrific, and I for one was stunned to find out what happened to Angel in mid-season 2!! Hunky actor David Boreanaz plays Angel.

Spike & Drusilla
This eerie vampire couple who inhabits Sunnydale during season two is a joy to watch. Spike is the coolest, with his bleeched hair, British accent and black coat, and Dru is so crazy, it's hilarious! I don't quite like Spike's development during season four though, it's an unusual storyline, no doubt about that, but he looses lots of what was great about the character when he can't be the bad-ass vampire he's suppose to be! Spike and Drusilla are played by James Masters and Juliet Landau.

FAVOURIE EPISDES (I really have too many favourite episodes, this has been an attempt to at least limit the list a little bit!)

Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest (Season 1)
A wonderful introduction to the show! It's very exciting, and has a few unexpected turns, which makes it even better! I love the very first scene, when it turns out the classic-horror-movie-blond-girl is in fact the vampire (High marks for Darla!)!! I also think it's a good move of Joss Whedon and his team to let Xander's friend Jesse be killed! It surprises the audience and creats a great amount of excitement, since you're sure anything can happen! These episodes have lots of terrific moments - I do like Buffy and Giles' scene in the library, when some of the Slayer lore and mythology is explained, and I think the Master is an excellent baddie ... I enjoy most of his scenes. I also like the first meeting between Buffy and Angel:
Buffy: Who are you?
Angel: Let's just say ... I'm a friend.
Buffy: Yeah, well, maybe I don't need a friend.
Angel: I didn't say I was yours ...
I do enjoy the way Buffy defeats Luke - fooling him the sun is about to rise: "It's in about nine hours, moron!" - and I love the last line of the episode; Giles stating, "The Earth is doomed!"

Prophecy Girl (Season 1)
The season one finale is terrific and Sarah Michelle Gellar shows an incredible performance in this episode!
Here too, you can see some of the unexpected turns I described earlier. The fact that Buffy actually dies, is of course unexpected to say the least! Also that Buffy's death was just what the Master needed to free himself from the Hellmouth and rise to the surface was a nice twist!
My absolute favourite scene is when Buffy overhears Giles and Angel talk about the prophecy that states the Slayer will face the Master - and die! David Boreanaz (Angel) and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) are both excellent actors, but Sarah Michelle Gellar completely steals the entire scenes and performs better than I could have imagined!!
I also like that Xander, who has just gotten the courage to tell Buffy he loves her, is the one to save Buffy's life. Aparently the Master did not drain enough of Buffy's blood to kill her, instead she drowned in the pool of water where the Master left her. The theme of saving Buffy's life sort of comes back in season six, in the musical episode where Spike is the one who has told Buffy he loves her, then saves her life from the demon Sweet.

Surprise/Innocence (Season 2)
Another outstanding two-part episode, this one constitutes the very core of the Buffy-Angel relationship. It was always rather obvious Buffy and Angel were wrong for eachother - she's the Slayer and he's a vampire ... even though he happened to be a vampire with a soul. Though I never saw the change in Angel coming, in retrospect it might be something one could expect. The curse he got from the gypsies was to make him suffer, always, and if he should experience true happiness, I guess something was bound to happen. A clear metaphor also pops up here; don't leap into a relationship, sex to early in a relationship will end badly etc. Even the aftereffects of Angel's change has a certain metaphor to it - a young girl falls for an older man, he changes, he's not the same kind person he was, he turns nasty ...
I like a lot of things in these episodes; when we first see that Angel is back as Angelus is one. He bites the girl in the alley and exhumes the smoke from her cigarette - it's a stunning effect! The scene where Angel brushes Buffy off in his apartment is also a great moment, and wonderful acting performances from both Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz. I also like the Angel-Drusilla-Spike relationship that begins here and continues throughout the season.

Passion (Season 2)
A wonderful, yet very sad episode. Jenny, feeling guilty about hiding things regarding Angel - and herself! - from Buffy and Giles, tries to come up with a restoration spell for Angel. Her last task is to obtain the Orb of Thesulah, but when she has, Angel finds out what she's up to.
There are lots of scenes here that are wonderfully made! I like that Angel doesn't bite Jenny, he kills her by breaking her neck. It really shows his total contempt for her, she's not worth the effort of feeding, but he wants the joy of killing her ... Also, the scenes where Giles finds Jenny are favourites throughout the series, they are beautifully shot and we see wonderful acting from Anthony Stewart Head! Another favourite scene is when Giles phones Buffy and Willow to tell them Jenny is dead. The fact that we see the conversation through Angel's eyes, makes it all the more emotional and catches a mood I don't think we would have seen otherwise. I have seen a transcript of the entire scene somewhere, and it is interesting to know exactly what is beeing said by Giles as well as by Buffy and Willow, but I think the scene definately works better without hearing the actual conversation.

Becoming, Parts 1 & 2 (Season 2)
A worthy ending to a great season! Once again, an apocalypse is coming, brought forth by Angel, Spike and Drusilla. Buffy still loves what Angel used to be before he changed, but she knows she has to kill him. Her last hope is if Willow can perform the restoration spell, but it doesn't seem to work. Buffy gets into a life-or-death sword fight with Angel, and has to perform the ultimate sacrifice when Angel in fact is cured, but it's to late ... and Buffy must send him to Hell to avert the apocalypse. I love the fact that Angel really is cured, it's painful enough for Buffy to kill Angel when he's bad, since she loves what she knows he could be, but the pain gets so much more intense when Buffy realises he's back as Angel, but has to kill him anyway!
These episodes lead up to an interesting place for Buffy, she is completely isolated from everyone and everything! Her lover has gone to Hell - literary - by her own doing, her mother has banned her from home after finding out she is the Slayer, she's been expelled from school and is therefore cut off from her friends, and he's under suspicion of murder and wanted by the police! This makes a nice cliff-hanger for the next season.
In the episodes, like most Buffy-episodes, there are great moments to remember. The sword-fight between Angel and Buffy, and the outcome of it, is of course something you will not easily forget. Also, the killing of Kendra is beautifully created and very sad, and the torture scenes with Giles and Angel, Spike and Dru are very realistic. I like that Dru, in her crazy mind, can see that Jenny is Giles' weakness, and use that to get the information Angel needs. The ending is very very touching, and I love the little Mutant Enemy Monster at the very end, hopping across the screen, saying in a sad voice, "I need a hug!" After that episode, who doesn't?!

Helpless (Season 3)
A great Buffy-Giles episode! It's interesting to see Buffy totally deprived of her physical strength and Slayer powers. We have only seen this once before, in "Halloween" (2.06), and it's always nice to see Buffy having to rely on her mental powers and not only physical strength. This episode is also important to Giles' character. He is the Watcher, appointed by the Watcher's Council, and he must answer to, and obey, them. And he does - up to a point. When Giles realises the Cruciamentum starts getting out of hand, he's the first one to call the whole thing off and let Buffy in on what's going on. The episode shows very clearly how much Giles loves Buffy, and Quenting Travers' words at the end, "You have a father's love for the child", rings very true.
As I am a great Giles fan - if I had to pick only one favourite character, it would definately be him - I love the scenes between Buffy and Giles! I think Sarah Michelle Gellar and Anthony Stewart Head act wonderful together - they are both incredibly talented and they have a chemistry between them that is great to watch!!

Graduation Day, Parts 1 & 2 (Season 3)
Another grande-finale! It's time to get rid of the Mayor once and for all, but with his Ascension coming up, it's not going to be easy! As usual, a lot of things occur to make things difficult for the Scoobies; Fatih has become a rouge Slayer and gone over to the Mayor, she fataly injures Angel to get Buffy to loose her concentration, and the Mayor is practically invinsible before the Ascension.
Once again, Buffy must make a sacrifice - she has to let Angel feed off her, to save his life. It is a big moment when Angel's feeding take place, and it feels somehow like a declaration of their love. Buffy in sacrificing herself, risking her life in a way, and Angel in not feeding enough to kill Buffy...
The great final battle is of course absolutely astonishing!! There are a few things I particularly like about this. One thing is the fact that the entire school, all the students, join in the fight. It is breathtaking when all the students stand up, open their robes and take out all the weapons! I also like that we get to see some of the minor, yet regular, characters during the fight, like Larry, Harmony and Jonathan.
There are a couple of scenes after the battle I like a lot and remember. The first one being when Giles finds Buffy and asks how she is ... she replies that her brain capacity has reached the level of "fire bad, tree pretty" Then Giles hands over Buffy's High School Diploma, which he has salvaged from the wreckage, and calmly states, "I think you've earned this."! Buffy and Angel's "good-bye-scene" is also very memorable, and says a lot, despite nothing is said between them. I also very much enjoy when the Scooby Gang gather after the fight:
Oz: Guys, take a moment to deal with this. We survived.
Buffy: It was a hell of a battle.
Oz: Not the battle. High school.
This summons up the first three seasons in a great way!

Hush (Season 4)
A very original, well-written and absolutely fantastic episode!! I read somewhere that Joss Whedon felt he was getting a bit lazy and stereotypical as a director, and he decided to write an episode with as little dialogue as possible, so he had to work very hard to direct it. The result: One of the best Buffy episodes ever!! I so like the Gentlemen, they are totally scary and really creep me out! What makes them even more scary is that they are so nice, so polite to eachother!
The kiss between Buffy and Riley sets perfectly in this episode, Buffy has been complaining that they both get nervous and start talking uncontrolable. Well, when they can't speak ... there's only one thing to do There's one little scene I like a lot to, it's not an important scene, but it's stuck with me. After everybody's figured out they can't speak, Buffy and Willow head over to Giles' house. When they enter, Willow suddenly writes something down on her message board, looking very excited, and we assume she's gotten a great idea. She turns the board and it says "Hi, Giles". It's very cute and very "Willow-y"
Also, because there is very little dialogue, we get to see a lot of top-quality acting from everybody! Not that the actors aren't performing well in the other epsiodes, but everybody certainly has an extra edge in "Hush".

Restless (Season 4)
An awesome and very cool episode! Totally exhausted after the great battle with Adam, the original Scooby foursome - Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles - fall asleep while watching videos, and we follow their dreams.
Lot of things in this episode are great! The "dream-likeness" is amazing. I recognize so much from my own dreams; in Willow's dream, where you sort of cut between one strange situation to another, and people you know appear in these crazy situations; and in Xander's dream I recognize the recurring theme of moving from one place to another, only to end up where you first started!
I completely love Spike in Giles' dream, doing all these scary black-and-white vampire promo shots, it's absolutely hilarious! The Cheese Man is also fun to watch, I like him even more after I heard that there is no hidden meaning - actually no meaning at all - with his prescence in the episode!
The idea of following up the summoning of the First Slayer from the previous episode is also very nice, it gives a depth to the series that you haven't really seen before ...

Once More, With Feeling (Season 6)
This is, according to me, most likely the best television episode ever made!! This musical is extremely well-written, and the performances from the actors are outstanding!! The setup of so many storylines, culminating in this very emotional epsiode, then leaving everybody to ask, "Where Do We Go From Here?" ... it's amazing!!
I have so many favourite moments in this episode, still, the one I like most is when the Scooby Gang has found out Dawn is being held captive by Sweet, and Giles insists Buffy should go alone. Buffy is clearly confused by this:
Buffy: You're really not coming?
Giles: It's up to you Buffy.
Buffy: What do you expect me to do?
Giles: Your best.
As for more comedy favourites; Xander and Anya's song, "I'll Never Tell" always makes me laugh, as does Anya's little bit about the dangerous bunnies The demon, Sweet, is a wonderful character, he's scary, yet cool and charming and funny, and I really like his song-and-dance numbers!
I also think it's interesting that it's Spike who saves the Slayer's life, and not her friends. Spike has declared his love for Buffy, and I think this is a nice parallell to the season one finale, "Prophecy Girl" where Xander tells Buffy he loves her, then rescues her from drowning.
"Once More, With Feeling" is truely an oustanding episode, and I think it will always be my number one favourite!!

Of course, I have lots more favourite episodes than these, some of them are "Angel", "Halloween", "Dark Age", "What's My Line?" (parts 1&2), "Band Candy", "Bad Girls", "Consequences", "A New Man" and "Primeval".

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