Rob Price
{Editor’s Note: The following article is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all those involved with it. Buffy changed the future of television…not only helping the fledgling WB Network get its start but even giving rise to the sub-genre of “Girls Kicking Ass”. Recently the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, has come under fire for his treatment of many of the young actors on this show and others he was involved with. We do not condone these actions of Mr Whedon but there were so many talented actors, writers, technicians and others who deserve to be celebrated and we feel the show should not fall victim to “cancellation” because of one man. -Rickey Price Media Editor}
Earlier this week (March 10th) marked the 25th anniversary of the premier of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I remember sitting down to watch the first episode with little hope of it being anything special, especially when comparing it to the movie. By the end of that first episode, I was a fan. As the series progressed, my love for the show only grew deeper, and to this day, it remains one of my all-time favorites. “But Why?”, you may be asking yourself. What makes this show so special? I’ll tell you, it’s Magic! I am not talking of spells and rituals, potions, or wands, but the convergence of so many aspects that go into a television program, like a big jigsaw puzzle, that the only word to describe it is… “Magic!”.
In the 1990s, there was a run of shows that featured strong leading female characters. Xena, Warrior Princess, La Femme Nikita, and Alias just to name a few. The difference with Buffy is, that she really just wants to be normal. She wants to wear nice clothes, buy shoes, talk to friends over coffee and do all the stuff normal high school girls live for, but she will never be “normal” and part of what makes the show amazing, is watching her grow to accept herself and embrace what makes her special, without losing the joys in life. Juxtaposition between the unassuming average girl versus this powerful hero who saves the world on a regular basis is one of the puzzle pieces that lend to the show’s greatness.
How the series is structured is another of those puzzle pieces. Leading up to Buffy, you really had two types of series. “Episodic”, where each episode was self-contained and one storyline rarely bled into others, or “Serialized”, where each episode was part of a larger story arcs, with seasons normally ending in a cliffhanger (think soap operas). Buffy used a novel approach that kind of combined the two. Most of the episodes are self-contained, but add to the larger continuity, with certain episodes contributing to the seasons main plot. Each season having its own “Big Bad” to fight, but normally wrapping up within the season, with no real cliffhangers. This format gives the characters more of a journey with a greater chance to change and grow. Past episodes shape decisions in future episodes. It also allows for closure, if the show was not picked up for additional seasons. For someone who has been scarred for life by shows that end with characters’ lives teetering on the edge of oblivion, only to have the series cancelled and never finding out the resolution, the new format was a god send (probably one of the lesser gods but definitely not from one of the hell dimensions)
Keeping with the puzzle analogy, we now have the edges done, but now lets piece together the whole picture. The storylines and scripts lend a huge impact on the overall effect and substance of the series. The writing pulled in references that several different generations could relate to, meaning that the series could speak to multiple demographics. At first glance you may think that it is an allegorical morality “play” preaching against the sins of youth. But it is much deeper than that. It takes situations that a normal high school student would experiences and ups the ante tenfold. It was described by the series lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar, as “the ultimate metaphor: horrors of adolescence manifesting through actual monsters. It’s the hardest time of life”. The show not only pulled in multiple demographics, but also several different genres, horror, action, drama, comedy, sci-fi, musical and fantasy. Cross-genre series can sometimes struggle with finding its footing, but Buffy was beautifully balanced almost creating its own genre.
The dialogue was modern and witty, combining humor and drama with pop cultural references and was a huge piece of the puzzle, but it isn’t everything. One of the best episodes of the entire series was an episode in the fourth season titled, Hush, and consisted of almost no spoken dialogue. It is one of the most creative and horrifying television episodes I have ever seen. On the flip side of Hush, is Once More with Feeling, the musical episode, that saw the main characters forced by a demon to sing out loud their inner most thoughts. You might think this was a “throw away” episode, and a gimmick to just entice people to watch the novelty, but in reality it was a cleverly written episode that fits well into the over all theme of the sixth season and added emotional depth to the main characters, plus the music was catchy.
The majority of the puzzle is assembled, and the picture is discernable, but not yet completed. We are still missing those crucial pieces. The one thing that really pulls this series out of normality and into the magical realm is the cast. Without these specific actors bringing these characters to life, the show would have failed. I would love to talk about each character and what they added to the series, but that would make this review a novel that no one would take the time to read. Instead, I will hit on the characters that I loved the most. Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendan), added the geeky comic relief, but was also the heart of the “Scooby – Gang”. He kept the team grounded and as the series progressed, found out who he was and where his strengths lie. “Big Bad” turned ally, Spike (James Marsters), was a terrifying enemy, but also loved deeply. His history with Angel (David Boreanaz) was an interesting twist. Bad guys are fun to play and fun to watch, and James’ comic timing and delivery were both terrifying and hilarious, giving us one of my favorite lines from the show, “Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs”. Angel was sort of the opposite, ally turned “Big Bad”, his tortured soul and smoldering sex appeal, was exactly right for Buffy’s first love and first major heart break. Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is probably my favorite character and the one I identify the most with. She is an outsider always looking in and never really feeling a part of anything, until she meets Buffy. She is brilliant and special, but shy and unassuming, with hidden power and depth. Alyson, during her audition, opted to play her as a consummate optimist, which won her the role and created someone who has been beat down by society, but has chosen to be happy none-the-less. Her character’s journey takes her from wall flower, to powerful witch, and to finding her true self. Buffy’s Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), played the consummate librarian, who has a dark side. Anthony played this part with so much dimension and complexity. The character is sarcastic and witty and has a mixture of both fatherly love and tenderness with his team mixed with utter awe and surprise in each new horror that comes their way. And finally, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who brought so much to the title role. There is an inner light in her that can’t be extinguished. Buffy understands what it is to be an outcast of society, and instead of hiding that aspect of her and trying to remain the shallow beauty queen, she befriends the other outcasts. There is a kindness and lovability that she has, and no matter what happens you want to root for her. She is a reluctant hero who must learn to accept herself and her situation. There are more than a few moments through out the series where Sarah really shines as an actress. A character that could easily have been a two-dimensional joke, becomes a well rounded three dimensional person with depth and true understanding. I think it is a shame that Sarah never won a major award for playing this part. Episodes like The Body where she deals with the natural death of her mother are heartbreaking and breathtaking to watch. Honorable mentions go to Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), the shallow popular girl who finds she has more in common with the Scooby-Gang and eventually moves over to spin off show Angel. Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland), Buffy’s mom. Faith (Eliza Dushku), the slayer who goes bad, Drusilla (Juliet Landau), Spikes insane vamp girlfriend and “Big Bad”. Seth Green as Oz, part time Scooby-Gang member, werewolf, and Willows first boyfriend. Tara (Amber Benson), Willows first true love. And finally, Wesley Wyndham-Price, the new Watcher. All of these actors brough something special to their parts and added much to an already wonderful series.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention series creator and one of the main writers, Josh Whedon. The man is very talented, but over the last several years it has come to light that he treats his cast members, specifically women, in a despicable manner. In the past, this behavior might have been acceptable and possibly even expected, but in the age, we currently live in, this type of action must be stopped. In reading about Josh, I think he is a very insecure man, who is forever in fear of failure and takes this fear out on the people he shouldn’t. It is sad when you find out a hero is really a villain. I know people are going to want or ask that you not talk about or watch Buffy or any of the other series that he is involved with. The thing is, Josh is only one aspect of a show and not watching something because one person involved happens to be an incredible asshole (pardon my English), takes support away from others that really deserve to shine (as well as takes money out of hundreds of actors and technicians’ pockets). So instead, of not watching a show, I just refuse to give credit to the man. I refuse to give him power. Many will be upset that we even talk about Buffy, but it exists, and those other, good people involved with the show deserve the credit and the power that Josh took away from them while making it.
Well all the pieces are in place, but we may be missing a few pieces. Those missing pieces are the magic I spoke of earlier. It is that intangible thing we can’t quite put our fingers on the soul of a series. Sometimes a show can have all the right pieces, but once together, still doesn’t look right. But sometimes there is just something special about all of it, none of the individual pieces are anything special, but once assembled, the result is breathtaking. The convergence of time, place, cast and crew turn something ordinary into the extraordinary, and what really pulled it together is hard to single out. It is difficult to accomplish, and often times cannot ever be duplicated, no matter how hard others try. So I just like to say, it was “Magic”.
Thank you: Sarah Michelle Geller, Ayson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendan, Anthony Stewart Head, Charisma Carpenter, Seth Green, David Boreanaz, James Marsters, Juliet Landau, Eliza Dushku, Amber Benson, Robie LaMorte, Bianca Lawson, Emma Caulfield, Harry Groener, Marc Blucas, Tom Lenk, DB Woodside, Michelle Trachtenberg, Alexis Denishof, Kristine Sutherland, David Greenwalt, Marti Noxon, Fran Rubel Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, Nerf Herder and all the others who entertained us in this “Once in a Generation” television series.
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