Mandy"Enough with the hyperbole!" or, Why I Love Buffy
July 9th 2007 03:02
What can I say about Buffy the Vampire Slayer that hasn't already been said by those wittier and erudite-er? To wit:
The point is, it's difficult to describe the show in a way that:
a) makes it sound interesting and adult enough that you will not be called a crazy person on a daily basis by your friends who are a little annoyed with you talking about Buffy and the viability of her actually saying the words "I love you" to the soulless creature who attempted to rape her not a year previously, I mean WTF, writers?, AND
b) does not descend into SQUEE FANGIRL ADORATION territory, even though the show is TOTALLY squee-inducing. Who DIDN"T let out a high-pitched squeal when Giles shut down Dark Willow in the Season Six penultimate episode? Yeah right, I know you're lying.
But the REAL point is, Buffy deserves all the hyperbolic praise it gets. The show truly WAS ground-breaking- think back to "Hush" or "Once More With Feeling", "The Body" or even "Welcome to the Hellmouth". There was nothing like it on TV at the time. It's easy to forget that, since this is 2007 and the quality of TV has improved with such shows as Lost, The Sopranos, and Veronica Mars (I won't include Desperate Housewives, House or Grey's Anatomy on principle- the principle being that they're BORING). But back in 1997, 98, 99 and the early 00s, Buffy was fresh and new, like a head of lettuce. Hey, I don't think THAT'S ever been said about it before! I've yet to see another show that had the cohesion and skill of the main actors, the chewy tidbits of pop culture thrown in for our delight, and the usually seamless transition between rapier wit and incredibly real pathos and every emotion in between, not to mention the clever foreshadowing, special effects and music that added so much to the show. Buffy is famed for its continuity, and its attention to detail over a season-long or even longer arc has been replicated often since. It's a fascinating world that Joss Whedon and Co. have created, one that entertains us while at the same time showing us something about our own world. Another thing Buffy does very well and is known for is its use of metaphor- "high school is hell" and "hiding the real me" predominant in the early years. Let's not speak of the later years, okay Marti Noxon? If anyone says the words "Magic" or "Addiction", I will punch you.
Which brings us to a rather appropriate segue into uneasy territory- Buffy is not perfect. Two words. Season. Six. As Glory once said, "I could crap a better existence than this." That's how I feel about season six. And never again shall I quote the Abimbomination (TM Ace of TWOP), the non-threatening muy-annoying non-Big Bad of season five. In the later years, Buffy began to feel like a cliche of itself. The characters seemed like facsimiles of their former selves; the honest, plucky Buffy we loved was replaced with an angry, humourless young woman and the season-arcs became convoluted and illogical, season seven in particular (hey, Potentials! GO AWAY! You're ruining that last year of my favourite show with your needy yet know-it-all whining!)
But on the Scale of Worthy Television (if that isn't an oxymoron in itself), Buffy ranks near the top. I'm sure some others would rank 60 Minutes or possibly Big Brother higher, but thinking about those people makes me weep. In my own mind, Buffy is the most delicious TV treat ever to pixelate on my glass-fronted fibreglass cube. I will always remember the operatic tragedies of season two, the nihilistic joy of season three (Faith, is she the coolest character ever?), and many moments in between that gave me butterflies and made my heart hurt and made me so angry that I threw the remote at the TV (Season seven, when Buffy slams her door in Giles' face. BITCH!). I will always associate Buffy with the happiness and anticpation that comes from watching a new episode, and try to forget the sinking feeling I got when I realised I was one episode closer to the end. And that other sinking feeling I got when the episode failed to live up to my desperate fangirly hopes for it. BUFFY AND ANGEL R TRUE SOULMATES!!! SPIKE IS A WEASEL!!!! DOWN WITH SPUFFY!!!!
Hey, there's always the Season Eight comics, right?
With astonishing bravura, Buffy succeeded in blending the conventions of teenage soap-opera with smart, dialogue-driven comedy, a phantasmagoria of supernatural motifs and knotty theological debate
- The IndependentIn the space of about twelve hours, Buffy saves Angel, gets a transfusion, organizes her high school into a commando force, and blows up the school. She's not too busy to insult Wesley one last time, either. Then again, who is?
- Couch Baron, of Television Without PityANGEL AND BUFFY 4EVA!!! SPIKE IS SEXY BUT SHOULD DIE!!!! HE'S TOTALLY EEEEVVIIIILLLL!!! BUFFY, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST STAKE HIM ALREADY!!!!! PREFERABLY BEFORE SEASON SIX!!!!!
- oops, how did that get in there? No more copying and pasting my IMDB comments!The point is, it's difficult to describe the show in a way that:
a) makes it sound interesting and adult enough that you will not be called a crazy person on a daily basis by your friends who are a little annoyed with you talking about Buffy and the viability of her actually saying the words "I love you" to the soulless creature who attempted to rape her not a year previously, I mean WTF, writers?, AND
b) does not descend into SQUEE FANGIRL ADORATION territory, even though the show is TOTALLY squee-inducing. Who DIDN"T let out a high-pitched squeal when Giles shut down Dark Willow in the Season Six penultimate episode? Yeah right, I know you're lying.
But the REAL point is, Buffy deserves all the hyperbolic praise it gets. The show truly WAS ground-breaking- think back to "Hush" or "Once More With Feeling", "The Body" or even "Welcome to the Hellmouth". There was nothing like it on TV at the time. It's easy to forget that, since this is 2007 and the quality of TV has improved with such shows as Lost, The Sopranos, and Veronica Mars (I won't include Desperate Housewives, House or Grey's Anatomy on principle- the principle being that they're BORING). But back in 1997, 98, 99 and the early 00s, Buffy was fresh and new, like a head of lettuce. Hey, I don't think THAT'S ever been said about it before! I've yet to see another show that had the cohesion and skill of the main actors, the chewy tidbits of pop culture thrown in for our delight, and the usually seamless transition between rapier wit and incredibly real pathos and every emotion in between, not to mention the clever foreshadowing, special effects and music that added so much to the show. Buffy is famed for its continuity, and its attention to detail over a season-long or even longer arc has been replicated often since. It's a fascinating world that Joss Whedon and Co. have created, one that entertains us while at the same time showing us something about our own world. Another thing Buffy does very well and is known for is its use of metaphor- "high school is hell" and "hiding the real me" predominant in the early years. Let's not speak of the later years, okay Marti Noxon? If anyone says the words "Magic" or "Addiction", I will punch you.
Which brings us to a rather appropriate segue into uneasy territory- Buffy is not perfect. Two words. Season. Six. As Glory once said, "I could crap a better existence than this." That's how I feel about season six. And never again shall I quote the Abimbomination (TM Ace of TWOP), the non-threatening muy-annoying non-Big Bad of season five. In the later years, Buffy began to feel like a cliche of itself. The characters seemed like facsimiles of their former selves; the honest, plucky Buffy we loved was replaced with an angry, humourless young woman and the season-arcs became convoluted and illogical, season seven in particular (hey, Potentials! GO AWAY! You're ruining that last year of my favourite show with your needy yet know-it-all whining!)
But on the Scale of Worthy Television (if that isn't an oxymoron in itself), Buffy ranks near the top. I'm sure some others would rank 60 Minutes or possibly Big Brother higher, but thinking about those people makes me weep. In my own mind, Buffy is the most delicious TV treat ever to pixelate on my glass-fronted fibreglass cube. I will always remember the operatic tragedies of season two, the nihilistic joy of season three (Faith, is she the coolest character ever?), and many moments in between that gave me butterflies and made my heart hurt and made me so angry that I threw the remote at the TV (Season seven, when Buffy slams her door in Giles' face. BITCH!). I will always associate Buffy with the happiness and anticpation that comes from watching a new episode, and try to forget the sinking feeling I got when I realised I was one episode closer to the end. And that other sinking feeling I got when the episode failed to live up to my desperate fangirly hopes for it. BUFFY AND ANGEL R TRUE SOULMATES!!! SPIKE IS A WEASEL!!!! DOWN WITH SPUFFY!!!!
Hey, there's always the Season Eight comics, right?
Down with Biley!!
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Comment by Cheryl J
Rhythmatism
Budget Centsability
Season Seven was a real disappointment. I think I know where Joss was trying to take it but it kind of lost the plot.