'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' season one: Swoon or snooze?
Many romance authors worship the ground Joss Whedon walks on, and many of us still miss his epic TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which wrapped up its often heart-wrenching run in 2003 after seven over-the-top seasons. We at HEA got the bright idea to revisit Buffy and the Scooby Gang through the eyes of a fellow romance author who had never seen the show. What if said romance author binge-watched each season then reported on her reactions so we could all fall in love with the gang (and the brilliance of Joss) all over again? HEA curator Joyce (that's me) and romance author Avery Flynn chatted about the idea, and we were off! Except, things didn't exactly go as planned. Luckily, we have fellow author Robin Covington offering a counterpoint to Avery's "totally judgmental" season one recap (Avery's words, I swear).
Avery's reaction to BtVS season one …
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer season one finale fades to black. My first reaction: Sweet baby Jesus, people love this show? Not just like it, but LOVE it? Are they crazy?
OK, put the rotten tomatoes down and hear me out — and, if you do throw the squishy veggies, my fingers are crossed that you have lousy aim.
When the Happy Every After team (aka the awesome Joyce Lamb) and I were brainstorming an older TV show that I could binge-watch and review, I told her I'd never seen Buffy. We decided it was a perfect choice. Even without watching it, I'd heard so much about it from my fellow romance authors JT Bock, Robin Covington and Denny S. Bryce that I figured for sure I'd like it. Strong heroines are kind of my thing and from all accounts Buffy would fit the bill. Plus, I love Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Avengers and other Joss Whedon shows and movies — how could I not like Buffy?
Quiet easily, it seems.
Warning: Spoilers, cheesy monsters and the world's oldest high school student ahead …
Season one opens with a strong episode that has everything to set up a great quest story. Buffy transfers to a new school, is deemed to be the once-in-a-generation vampire slayer, declines the opportunity to go on her quest to kill all the vampires, finds out her new hometown was built on top of a hellmouth, gathers a ragtag band of helpers and finally accepts her destiny and goes on her quest. Some laughable moments though include Cordelia, who looks like she's closer to 30 than 16, and Buffy's supershort skirts that would never pass the finger test in today's high schools.
The second episode introduces us to her nemesis for the season, The Master. I know. The name is cheesy, but for a vampire trapped underground for centuries, it works. In this episode we get a better look at Angel, the hottie you just know is destined to be the love interest (especially if you have friends like I do who say the name Angel with a fluttery sigh). After that, it's four episodes of monster-of-the-week storylines and awful late-'90s special effects. Really, these were painful episodes. All I can say is thank God for Willow and Xander because Buffy is about as fun to watch as a character as a cardboard box.
Just when I'd begun to lose hope, we get the big Angel episode when Buffy discovers that her crush is a vampire. Talk about a romantic conflict. Finally, a plot line that had emotional impact. Also, I imagine watching this as a teenage girl was pretty swoon worthy. Thumbs up.
My hopes were raised. I could look past those first four shaky episodes because Buffy was interesting again. And then … the next four episodes consisted of an eye-rollingly bad puppet monster hunter, a demon that lives in the Internet, a supercheesy after-school special nightmares episode and the case of the girl who turned invisible because everyone ignored her. Thank God that people figured out how to make wheat into beer because I think that was the only way I made it through those episodes.
And then it was time of the season one finale — the big showdown with The Master. I got my hopes up for this one. Who doesn't love a good action-packed showdown with the fate of the world hanging in the balance finale? Apparently Buffy. She tried to skip out on the apocalypse after finding out she was destined to die. She lived through the episode and killed The Master only because Xander, Angel, Willow, Giles and what's-her-name the computer teacher, didn't go all sacrificial virgin in a bad white prom dress like Buffy did. Also, in this episode Buffy went from cardboard character to emoting like a teenage girl with heavy-duty PMS. It was so overwrought and just … UGH.
Maybe it was because I had such high expectations for the show, but when my screen went black I was more than a little glad the season was over. Twelve episodes and only two of them were enjoyable.
Of course, Joyce Lamb and Robin Covington — and probably plenty of you—think I'm crazy. Robin is here to offer her Avery's-a-total-loon counterpoint below.
Robin Covington responds with the voice of reason …
Let me start by saying that Avery Flynn has been my bestie for a while now and I love her like a sister. It is because we have that deep a love connection that her crazy talk will not impair our friendship.
I was sure that Avery would love Buffy and her Scooby gang. All of the sassy banter and girl-power dialogue? Totally up her alley. I can only assume that her failure to see the epic beginnings of a show that transcends TV is because she was taken over by aliens. I have alerted Area 51.
Like any show, it had its rocky beginnings as it established the characters, setting and the conflict, but it quickly overcame this by episode two.
This was the first baby of Joss Whedon and everything that makes him great was in this first season. The dialogue was funny and sharp but not angsty or over-the-top like Dawson and his buddies on the creek. Set in and playing on the universally acknowledged theme that "high school is hell," he brilliantly set the series in a town that covers the hellmouth. He took every opportunity to weave the communal crap of high school (losers, jocks, cheerleaders, popularity, teenage romance) and dumped it all in the universe where a young girl has to willingly take on the job of saving the world. He does this with humor, camp and the trademark Whedon irony added on like a cherry on top.
The names are crazy. The skirts too short. The cheerleader too vapid. The principal too clueless and evil. The bad boy not only bad but deadly. None of this was by accident. How else to make the absurd world of American high school enjoyable than to make it absurd? Where else would the slayer accept her destiny but at the school dance while wearing her formalwear? Genius.
But, when you strip away the trappings of a vampire slayer TV show, the relationships blooming between the characters are the heart of season one and the foundation here lays the groundwork for all the hell they will go through in later seasons. Just like the other epic fantasy show, Supernatural, when you strip away all of the fangs, demons and witchcraft, it all comes down to the interaction between the characters. Family.
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles form the ultimate outsider group. They are so out there that even the lowest of the high school social hierarchy won't let them sit at their lunch table. But they have each other's back while navigating the unrequited love triangle that outlines the triad of the core of the Scooby Gang. Giles is the father figure, the man tasked with not only helping to save the world from demonic destruction but to act as the stability in the life of a virtually fatherless girl. Even Cordelia is integral to the story, her constant intrusion of high school mean girl keeping the story grounded in more than one hell.
And the amazeballs love story between Buffy and Angel? It takes every cheesy moment from Saved by the Bell, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the push and pull of Ten Things I Hate About You. It's all there in the first season from the first moment they lay eyes on each other across the room to when they acknowledge how they feel about each other and how it can never be anything.
So, I don't get why you don't "get" Buffy, Avery Flynn. She's badass, loyal, vulnerable, smart, snarky and takes no prisoners. She's a lot like you.
(cue the "awwww" soundtrack as I fade to black ...)
Avery: *epic eye-roll*
So there you have it. What do you think? Was Buffy season one swoon-worthy or snooze-worthy? Tune in next month when Avery returns to tell us if Buffy season two hooked her. (Unless Joyce decides to fire her.)
About Avery and Robin
Avery Flynn loves her heroes smart and hot, and her heroines badass. Her latest, Make Me Up (Killer Style 3), is a thrill ride of an adventure featuring a makeup artist branded the lipstick killer and her former special ops ex-lover who may be the only one who can keep her alive long enough to clear her name.
Robin Covington writes alpha heroes and strong heroines who know how to keep them on their toes. Her latest, Daring the Player, takes a reformed bad-boy football player and a tough rocker chick and lets the sparks fly. Robin also regularly recommends great book trailers for HEA.
Find out more about Avery and Robin at their websites, averyflynn.com and robincovingtonromance.com.