Although it doesn’t air anymore, I tried not to miss Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it used to air on Star World. Most people may think it’s crazy to watch ’vampire crap’ but that’s not why I watched. This show had so many angles to it. It had so many interesting, diverse characters to keep you enthralled.
Buffy the vampire slayer is fantastical, what with the vampires and demons and magic and what not, but it has so much more to it than just that. It’s funny, it has a generous helping of romance and drama and it can really move you.
I especially liked the first few seasons when Angel (the gorgeous David Borenaz) was still part of it. Now the producers have a show titled Angel that features him. Apparently he had to move to Los Angeles and keeps the people there safe from evil now, while Buffy, the love of his life is still whacking the bad guys in Sunnydale.
Buffy, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar (you can catch her in Scooby Doo the movie, Scream 2 and I know what you did last summer), is a cute perky college student. She was in high school in the first few seasons of the show, and has grown up with it.
Buffy’s love life has been tragic in the show, but is anything but tragic in real life (she is now the bride of Freddy Prinze Jr). First she fell for Angel, the vampire with a soul, a love that just wasn’t meant to be. Then she fell for Riley, her wicked Psychology professor’s assistant who was too much into a secret military to be able to stand back and let her protect him. Her involvement with her slayer rituals is to be blamed for her failed romances, but that’s necessary for the greater good of the world so you just have to feel sorry for her.
There was Buffy’s best friend Willow, a witch who had just begun to fully understand her powers in the last season. And of course Giles, Buffy’s watcher, an eccentric Englishman disguised as the librarian. His words of wisdom and knowledge got Buffy through many rough spots!
Xander, Buffy’s childhood friend, is a lot of laughs, he’s not too bright or refined but very sweet and handy to have around. He’s in love with an ex-demon, now a human and a very confused one at that.
The last season introduced Dawn, Buffy’s kid sister. She played the spoilt brat throughout, and then it was discovered that she was the key to the dimensions. Buffy and Dawn also lost their mother to a tumour... this was dealt with in a very moving episode. They’ve also recently brought a new romantic interest into the show, between Willow and Tara, another witch, I’ll leave the rest to imagination...
Lets not forget about Spike. He’s an evil vampire, but his sharp sense of humour and wit leaves you gasping for more. He’s the vampire who killed two slayers. But instead of vanquishing her, he falls in love with her, protects her sister, loses his evil edge, and comes across as goofy.
All the characters blend amazingly well with each other. The directors and script-writers take a subject that could have come across as silly, and turn it into an amazing serial. What I like most about it is, they aren’t afraid to do what no one expects will happen, like have central characters leave, break Buffy’s heart, and even kill her, but then revive her magically in the next season... which I’m eagerly looking forward to!