1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
OPEN SPOILERS YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
I know for a fact that there are better shows on this list, but no other show has spoken to me, help shape my life and made me laugh and cry as much as this show has. I grew up watching this show, so it got a hold of me when I was very impressionable.
The show began in 1997; I was around ten years old back then. My mother was taking a shower and my brother was going to bed, I sat in the living room flipping through the channels when I come across a young girl, the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. It immediately caught my attention; I thought what kind of show is this? The girl was Sarah Michelle Gellar and the character was Buffy Summers. Then, out of nowhere, someone grabs her by the neck from behind, picks her up and throws her across the room. It’s a vampire. My interest in the show has risen. He attacks her, and I thought she was a goner…but she fights back. What? This girl is not only hot, but she can kick ass? I thought, what kind of awesome show is this? Then the opening credits/theme song kicks in and I’m sold right then and there.
What an amazing intro kick ass song, cool font and the concept of the show was something I thought was cool, Vampires. At that point I had no idea that it was a show continuing the story from a movie. I watched the movie after the first season because my dad told me it was based off the movie. I can’t tell you exactly where I was, what I was doing or what members of my family were doing when I began watching any other show, just this one. I was about 16 when the show finished. Those years were the later half of elementary school and the first half of high school. Buffy had such an impact on my life and I’m glad I caught it on television when I did. I have books, comics, cds, clothing, etc. I was truly a fan of this show
Season 1
The big bad was The Master, an ugly vampire in a season that had only 12 episodes. The highlight of the season were two episodes Nightmares, the classic nightmares coming real bit and Prophecy Girl, the season finale, in which Buffy learns she will face the Master and die. These are two great episodes in a pretty tame first season. The first season suffered from the demon of the week bit, which still played out from time to time on other seasons, but it’s the first where it’s the most obvious. I can’t really complain about the first season because it did draw me in after all. The low point episode would be I Robot You Jane, which sees Willow releasing a demon into a computer.
Favourite Episode: Nightmares
Least Favourite: I Robot You Jane
Season 2
A lot of people claim this season to be the best and I would agree. Season 2 and 3 are my favourite, since they deal with the characters in the high school setting (I missed the library once it was gone.) This season is famous for a few reasons. Two of them right off the bat are Spike & Drusilla., two of the shows greatest villains. The second would be Angelus…duh.
Angel, the vampire with a soul, and Buffy’s first, loses his soul the moment he finds pure happiness. Enter a whole new dimension of metaphors for young girls. Me? I was jealous and I hated David Boreanaz because he got to do a sex scene with Gellar. Angel is more fun and likable as a villain. As the hero, he’s dark and moody, Boreanaz seems to have a lot more fun with the darker side of the character. Even though he might not have been Buffy’s strongest foe (Glory) he sure as hell was the hardest one for her to defeat. Not only because she loved him, but also because he knew all the ways to get under her skin. I still remember trying to pick my jaw up off the floor when he snapped Jenny Calendar’s neck. Then, to see Giles come home to the dead body…that episode was heartbreaking. Passion, by far one of the best episodes of this show to date, let’s look at it.
Angelus had the voice over, a new perspective for the show. Jenny, a recurring character that was a love interest for Giles dies in a complete shock. Such a fast and horrible way, with the one way to transform Angel back lost between the desk and file cabinet. Giles coming home to the dead body…then going completely bad ass with a flaming piece of wood. He beat the crap out of Angelus. Buffy punching Giles yelling at him and crying, she can’t lose him and neither can we. The first episode that I got emotional, seeing Willow get the new over the phone, the hurt and pain that is caused. This episode was well written, acted and directed.
The season finale has Kendra dead, Buffy arrested and the final showdown between Slayer and Vampire. Kendra was the next vampire slayer called on because Buffy actually dies in the season finale of season one. What made this episode for me was that last moment, Angel finally getting his soul back…but it being too late. The gateway has already opened and the only way to close it is to kill him. Buffy has to kill the one man she loves. Not Angelus, but Angel. At the very end Buffy leaves Sunnydale because her mother disapproves of her ‘slaying’. Joyce, played by the lovely Kristine Sutherland says if Buffy leaves the house, she is not welcomed back. Well, sorry, but she has to go save the world.
Favourite Episode : Passion
Least Favourite: Inca Mummy Girl
Seasons 3
Season 3 is famous for the introduction of Faith, the rogue vampire slayer that lives life on the edge. She is everything that Buffy (thinks) she wants to be, a girl with a great deal of power, but no real responsibility. Buffy even turns to the dark side for a bit before they both accidentally kill a man, a human being. This tears Buffy apart, Faith hides it and shrugs it all off. With Spike and Dru out of Sunnydale and Angel in some hell dimension, there needs to be someone to step in as the big bad. It was going to be hard to fill the spot of Spike/Dru/Angelus, but season 3 decided to go a different route and introduce us the the Mayor. He was always smiling, offered people cookies and had a nice charm about him, the only problem was that he was not human and at the end of the season transformed into a giant snake demon. He cracked jokes and took care of Faith. Yup, Faith turned to the dark side and season 3 had Slayer VS Slayer. Oh yeah, we also were introduced to Wesley, whom no one liked at first, but people now love.
Angel also came back, the studio wanted to give Angel is own show, so they brought him back, and then had him leave Buffy at the end of this season to star in his own series, Angel. Season 3 is probably my second favourite season, we still had Angel and Cordelia on the show and we were still in the High School setting. This would be the last season where our heroes would get together in the library and research. The first three seasons of the show are great and are what I remember most about the show.
This season saw some interesting episodes such as The Wish, where Cordeila wishes that Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale. The entire episode was a What If and quite a unique and fun way to look at the other side of things. We get to see The Master again; he has overtaken the town because Buffy wasn’t here to stop him. The Zeppo was interesting because it was focused on Xander. It was also another end of the world episode, but the spin on it was that while all of that is happening, we are focused on Xander and his problem with a group of dead guys and a bomb. It was nice to see the normal guy get his time to shine. Amends gives us the introduction of the first evil, which becomes a big player in the series finale. Dopplegangland has the vampire willow from The Wish come back and even hints at the character being a lesbian. Earshot deals with teen suicide and then the Prom episode, which had me holding back tears.
The moment was when Buffy attends prom after saving it from some rabid wild dogs. She walks in as Jonathan is handing out awards, the last award of the night goes to Buffy Summers. It was the protector award, showing Buffy that her hard work at keeping everyone safe doesn’t go unnoticed. She has helped and saved the lives of many students and this was their chance to say thank you. It was truly a touching moment and one I remember being caught up in.
Final episode was Graduation Day, which had Buffy blow up the entire school. It was a kick ass episode that had every student take part in. It’s safe to say this seasons went out with a bang.
Favourite Episode: Graduation Day Pt 1 & 2
Least Favourite: Dead Man’s Party
Seasons 4
This is the season that lost many people, I still like it, but it is one of my least favourite seasons. People hated this one because we are thrown in an unfamiliar setting, College, the high school is gone as well as Angel and Cordelia. We are missing some key people that were apart of this show. The famous library is gone and Giles’ apartment is a poor substitute. Anya becomes more of a key figure in this season (a good thing) and we are introduced to Riley (bad thing). Out of all of Buffy’s lovers, Riley was the least interesting and likeable. It didn’t help that the other two are vampires. Season 4 dealt with the idea of science vs magic. The first three seasons were about the mystical elements of the show and this season was all science.
The big bad guy was a Frankenstein wannabe, Adam did not hold a match to The Master, The Mayor or Angelus. Oz, Willow’s lover and local werewolf, played by Seth Green ups and leaves, he comes back alter on but finds out things are too different…mainly Willow being gay. We are introduced to Amber, Willow’s future lover. We are also given the one and only episode that was nominated for an Emmy in the writing catrgory, Hush. Which is a god damn shame because both The Body and Once More With Feeling deserve recognition.
Hush was a great achievement, it was able to convey so much with saying so little. The episode saw these creepy guys known as The Gentlemen, steal the voices of the people of Sunnydale, so that when they cut open their chest and stole their hearts no one can hear them scream….creepy and awesome if you ask me. It was funny and amazing at how much the character are able to get across to one another without saying a word. The only way to end this episode, once the character got their voices back, was to have them not know what to say….silence. Beautiful and poetic.
Buffy took on Adam, with the help of Willow and some powerful magic. The fight sequence reminded me a lot of the effects in the film The Matrix. Something that was popular at the time, it was a cool effect to add to the show. The season ended with a more low key episode, Whedon had finished the first three seasons with big action and fight sequences, he wanted this seasons to end on a lighter note.
Favourite Episode: Hush
Least Favourite: Beer Bad
Season 5
Season 5 was a great season that a lot of people hate due to the fact that Dawn is finally introduced. Yes, we hate her, but bare with it. After this season, she was useless and an excuse to get a character in trouble, someone the Buffy has to go save. Yet in season 5, she served her purpose, she was the key.
Just how strong is Buffy? This seasons answers that the best, not only in physical strength, but emotional. First, Buffy has to fight Glory, the new big bad. Another pretty looking girl, blonde hair, looks like Buffy, but there is something different about her. She is incredibly strong. Oh yeah…she’s a GOD. Not THE GOD, but a GOD. Glory is looking for the key, which a bunch of Monks have hidden. They made it human and gave it to the slayer to protect. The character of Dawn pops up and everyone acts as if she has been there the entire time, something is wrong here. Then we learn about the fake memories the monks gave everyone. Season 5 to me is the most thought out season from beginning to end, it feels complete. It’s also the last time the show would air on the WB. Not knowing if they would be picked up by another station Whedon had an ending to the series, Buffy dies (again). It was a well thought out ending that worked, it could have ended the whole show. I’m glad it didn’t though because we got two more seasons. So Buffy is able to defeat Glory, but how do you kill a GOD? Well, it just so happens that she shares a body with a human. Her brother, Ben, and Giles takes it upon himself to kill Ben, which in turn kills Glory.
Now we know that Buffy is strong enough to kill a GOD, but is she strong enough to deal with the death of her mother? Ladies and gentlemen, my favourite episode of the entire series, The Body. Written and directed by Joss Whedon, The Body, to me shows the most realistic depiction of death and how people handle it. Buffy is strong, she is the slayer and is able to save her friends and dozens of others from the darkest monsters in the night, but she can’t fight a natural death.
The episode has only diegetic sound, no mood music what so ever. The performances speak for themselves. There is no music to help ease any emotion; it’s stark and raw. The visuals are there for you to experience everything. Music would make things easier. The feeling of what do we do now, the need to blame someone. Each member of the Scooby gang takes the news differently. Xander is full of anger and frustration, Willow is confused and obsesses over what to wear, Anya is confused and asks questions like a child would, she doesn’t understand the concept of death. I bow to the cast, powerfully acted episode, especially Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emma Caulfield.
There are moments in this episode that get to me, I probably cried 4 or 5 times….that’s every time I watch it too. Tara, who has been somewhat ignored until now, gets her own little episode. Her family comes to Sunnydale to take her back. There is a moment in this episode that gets to me as well, when her father demands her to come back and be with her family and Buffy says come and take her away….but you have to go through me first. Then the rest of the gang stand up and back her up. Tara’s father asks who the hell are you….her response? We’re family. Cue tears.
This season starts off with Buffy fighting Dracula, hits an unbelievable high with the death of Joyce and ends with the death of Buffy. Quite an emotionally draining season.
Favourite Episode: The Body
Least Favourite: Listening to Fear
Season 6
Another season people tend to look down upon. It seems that from season 4 on, there was always one big issue that people had with that particular season, me? I loved them all. For this one, it had to be the lack of a real significant thread in the big bad (until the last 3 or so episodes that is) The Trio, Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, were three nerds in high school who got together to form a super intelligent crime trio. They used their brains to outwit Buffy with state of the art high tech gizmos and what not. It’s not very frightening, considering the season prior just had buffy fighting a GOD.
There are quite a few inside jokes at the expense of Andrew. His episode was never shown on the show. Warren had one where he created a girlfriend who was a robot who would do anything he wanted, he later went on to create the Buffy bot for spike’s pleasure. Jonathan created an alternate reality where he was king of everything. People wanted his autograph, he was sexy with the ladies and knew how to kill monsters, he even changed the opening credits. The third guy was suppose to be Tucker, the one who released the rabid wild dogs on prom night, plans fell through so they got his ‘brother’ Andrew, whom no one remembers…ha
Season 6 played up the comedic bit after such a dramatic season 5, the bumbling failures of the three guys was funny. Their constant failures pushed Warren over the edge, to the point where he simply wants to kill Buffy, so he goes and grabs a gun. Not everything goes according to plan and he accidentally kills Tara, Willow’s lover. Tara and Willow were having some problems this season. Willow was using her magic way too often and Tara disapproved of it, this caused some friction and a break between the two. Eventually they got back together after Willow went cold turkey and gave it up, all for love. Ain’t that sweet? The episode Seeing Red, gave Tara her place in the credits…finally. But this was also her last episode, as she was shot and killed. Taking many people by surprise and turning Willow into one scary bitch. All the magic she has been keeping build up was finally unleashed and she skinned Warren alive. She was on a mission to destroy anything and everything, including her friends.
Season 6 is notable for two things, one it’s the first and only time that Joss Whedon did not direct the season finale. Two would obviously be Once More With Feeling. The most ambitious and popular episode the series has produced. It was of course the musical episode, where everyone was singing and dancing. So much dancing in fact that they would spontaneously combust. I know and can recite every song and lyric. Is that sad? The episode got overlooked at the Emmy’s due to some human error in the nomination process such a shame because it was such a revolutionary episode….I mean, just look at what we have now with GLEE, even Grey’s Anatomy did a musical number. Buffy did it years ago when people were too scared to take such a giant leap. Whedon had faith in his actors, who had to sing and dance, with next to no training. It’s putting yourself out there for millions of people to see. I love this episode.
Back to Dark Willow…how can Buffy stop her? Giles has left, feeling that he is standing in the way of buffy becoming her own woman and taking care of herself. She has relied on him for years, he was her only father figure and now he needs to step down. He’s left and gone back to England. This is the second time he left this season. He left in the opening episode because of Buffy’s death, then had to come back when he heard that Willow and the gang brought her back to live. Of course they brought her back to life, how can you have a show go on for two more seasons without the lead character?
Boom, Giles shows up, surprisingly at the end with some powerful magic of his own to battle Willow. But even that is not enough, with Giles and buffy not able to take down Willow, Xander steps up to the task. Xander? He talks to Willow, that’s it. No fighting, no tricking, just talks to her, from his heart. If she wants to destroy the world, she has to destroy him, her best friend since they were kids. He loves her and he stands in front of her saying that she has to kill him. It’s heartbreaking, enough to make Willow stop.
I must give a shout out to the funniest episode ever on the show: Tabula Rasa, a spell goes bad leaving the whole gang without their memory. Buffy names herself Joan because she has no I.D. on her and Spike looks inside her outfit which is a disguise (he’s hiding from a loan shark) and it says made with care for Randy, so he comes to the conclusion his name is Randy. Since Spike….I mean Randy and Giles are the only two British speaking chaps, they think they are father and son. Hilarity ensues when Vampires show up and they scream in terror.
Oh yeah, the season ended with Spike getting his soul back….WHA?!?!?!?
Favourite Episode: Once More With Feeling
Least Favourite: As You Were
Season 7
Much like Lost’s final season, the final season of Buffy is my least favourite. They had a great idea, but it wasn’t executed as well as it should have been. To me, the characters changed. Xander was no longer to funny lovable goof; he was always condescending, mean and irritating. Willow found a new lover with Kennedy, a potential vampire slayer, leaving the viewers with a bad taste in their mouths and yearning for Tara to come back. Buffy went on and on every episode with a lengthy monologue about duties and having to stand up and fight. It grew tiresome and boring.
Spike has his soul and is being tormented by some kind of evil….the first evil. The same first evil that tried to get Angel to kill himself back in season 3. The idea of the First was interesting to me, it helped that Caleb, played by the always-reliable Nathan Fillion was one badass preacher, who served in the name of the first. He was strong; he took out Xander’s eye, leaving him with only one. Pirate Xander.
The potential slayers were boring, uninteresting and annoying. Like, Dawn annoying. Ashanti was one of them for crying out loud. The season did manage to pull off some cool episodes like Conversations with Dead people and Lies my parents told me. Two great episodes in a very basic season. The first was also able to manifest itself into dead things, so we were able to see past villains, like The Master and Adam. Cool and a nice throwback to the prior seasons, which would be done in a similar way again…LOST
Warren is dead, thanks to Willow and Jonathan dies because Andrew kills him. He was tricked into doing it from the first, who manifested itself as Warren. Andrew is guilt ridden and has nowhere to go, so he goes to Buffy and joins the gang. He offers a lot of comedy this season, along with Anya. Andrew became a favourite (I like characters who make me laugh) and he sort of fills the Xander role, since Xander becomes a douche.
What this season did and the show as a whole, was that it ended on a high note, went out with a bang and unlike Lost’s final episode, did not disappoint. There was an epic battle sequence that had me on the edge of my seat. The episode has laughs, tears and death, everything a fiale should have. We lose Anya in the battle and we also lose Spike, who sacrifices himself to save the others. Buffy tells him she loves him, just before she leaves and he dies. Sad and beautiful, all he wanted to do was be with her.
The series ends with a new outlook for Buffy, Dawn gets the last line in the series Yeah Buffy, what are we gonna do now? Buffy smiles at this thought.
Favourite episode: Chosen
Least Favourite: Potential
I chose not to continue the story with the season 8 comic book story line, for me the show ended, so did the story. The world was full of potential slayers that were given the power of their destiny, thanks to Willow using a spell that evoked all the potentials powers to emerge. When the show ended, I sat there in silence. For the first time in a long time I did not know what I was going to do anymore. My favourite show….the one show where I absolutely had to be home for to watch every single week, was no longer on the air. What would those nights consist of now? What show could replace it? Could a show replace it? The only show that came close was LOST, but those were for totally different reasons. I was wrapped up in the mysteries of LOST, I was wrapped up in the world of Buffy. I wanted to be on the show, in the show, apart of the show. I wanted my life to be in that universe, live in Sunnydale and be apart of the Scooby Gang. Sad? Pfft, I was a kid, do I still want to today at 23? Yes.
I can’t really put into words what this show means to me, this was my pathetic attempt at it. I can’t describe the impact this show has had on my life. Hell, I owe all my witty sarcastic remarks/banter to this show. Even shows today do, ever catch an episode of Gilmore Girls? How pop culture savvy is that show? Thank you Buffy.
I can’t thank Joss Whedon enough for giving me something that helped shape who I am today. Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy to me, no matter what girl they get to fill the shoes with the remake they are doing. No show has ever made me care so much for the characters. I grew up with them, they were like a second family to me. Sure I was younger than them, but they went from high school, to college, to living an adult life. I wouldn’t change a single thing about this show. Of course there are episodes I hate, the show isn’t perfect. If I wanted to put a perfect show as my number one favourite I would have placed The Wire there. Instead I put a show that has impacted my life more than any other show did, or ever could do.
I recently re watched the entire series with my girlfriend…well, we are currently finishing up season 6. I asked her to watch it with me because it was and still is my favourite show of all time. She agreed. She had seen some episodes before and always thought of the show as a silly thing to watch. She never understood why I loved it so much. 6 seasons later, she has cried more times than I ever did. I have a tally somewhere, I think it has been 16 times and we haven’t even gotten to the failed wedding and death of Tara yet. The problem she had and the problem people have, who don’t watch the show is that they expect it to be something completely different. Give the show a chance and you will be pleasantly surprised. It is more deep, thoughtful and real than most of the other shows out there. The Body is my favourite episode of ANYTHING ever on tv. It’s powerful, heart wrenching and realistic. It’s probably one of the most memorable episodes to ever grace television.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, thank you.
Joss Whedon, thank you.
So there you have it. My top 26 TV shows of all-time. Sorry it took so damn long.
Reply to Topic
Also love The Harsh Light Of Day, (Harmony and Spike) Pangs (Spike tied to a chair as Giles' apartment is being rained upon with arrows always makes me laugh) Something Blue, Hush, (of course), Superstar and The Yoko Factor. That's a pretty good haul of great episodes for such a 'poor' season.
