Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1)
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: A-
DVD Special Features: B

      I was dead set against watching "Buffy" the TV series when it first premiered because of my love for that quirky little film with the same title.  How could it be better without Kristy Swanson at the helm? Stories like that 
were made for the big screen, not the watered down idiot tube we call TV.  It 
didn't even occur to me to do my homework on the new series, otherwise I'd 
have seen that it was written and directed (at times) by the original writer 
of the movie, Joss Whedon.  Up until two days ago, I was a Buffy virgin and 
proud to say that I'd never watched a single episode.  Sometimes I'm just an 
idiot.

For anyone else out there who's never had the pleasure of watching this show 
because of the movie or general lack of interest, let me say that you're 
really missing a lot of fun!  I had no idea that the episodes had as much 
humor in them as they do.  Yes, there's drama, suspense, a little bit of gore 
and tragedy, but there's also a number of very pleasant surprises, some great 
stuntwork, decent effects that don't overshadow the stories and a cast that 
really seems to click. These people are definitely working for what's going 
to be seen on the screen, but they're a family and that really comes through.

The story picks up rather loosely after events in the movie.  Buffy Summers 
(Sarah Michelle Gellar) was kicked out of her last school for setting the 
gymnasium on fire, so she and her mother have moved to Sunnydale to start 
anew.  Another bit I picked up on right away is that Buffy's dad seemed to be 
missing, but it was addressed and we soon learn that her parents are now 
divorced.  Unfortunately, Sunnydale just happens to be sitting on a 
Hellmouth, a gateway to hell and backup excuse for why a particular creature 
can be there if no logical or scientific explanation can be given.  I guess 
it's a good thing Buffy didn't move to a little town called Capeside near 
Boston.  Can you imagine the drama?  "Uh, Dawson, is that a stake in your  
pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

It isn't before long that a vampire presence is felt and things kick into 
high gear.  Buffy wants to put her slaying past behind her, but the arrival 
of the new librarian, Giles (Anthony Head), who is also her new "Watcher,"  
convinces her otherwise.  He (Giles) is a combination of British gentleman, 
man of the world and knowledge.  He is also unable to understand much of what   drives teenagers to be themselves and quite a bit of humor comes from this. Also along for the ride is a cast of very memorable and colorful 
personalities. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan who 
many of you will recognize as the band camp freak from "American Pie 1 and 2)   play two misfit students who take a liking to Buffy and form a very close 
friendship.  Both actors have a wide range of emotion and expression and 
they're very easy to fall in love with in that TV character sort of way.  
Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) is an absolute scream as the seemingly shallow 
and obnoxious rich teen queen. She's my personal favorite and could be how a  certain someone I know and love sometimes acts if he was reincarnated as a  woman. Last, but not least, is Angel (David Boreanaz, but please don't hold 
"Valentine" against him), a 240 year-old vampire with a secret and a crush on  
Buffy.

Since Buffy was a midseason replacement, there were only 12 episodes made 
that comprise the first season.  It's obvious that a great deal of care and 
effort went into these episodes to bring viewers in and earn them a second 
season.  I think what I liked most about this is that even if Buffy never had 
a Season 2, this one stands on its own.  Even the last episode isn't a
standard cliffhanger and wraps that episode's and season's arc up just in 
case there wasn't to be anything else to come.  Fortunately there is more on 
the way and the seeds from the first season have been well planted.  A little 
card on the inside of the box states that Season 2 will be released in June 
and I'm really looking forward to seeing it and catching up a bit more.

The video quality on the discs is nice and clear for the most part, though a 
bit too dark during the night scenes.  I had to boost the brightness on my TV 
up a bit, but that's the only sticky spot I saw.  I didn't notice any 
problems with the audio at all, so hopefully you won't either.  The only 
thing that annoyed me was this blurb at the beginning of every episode about 
there being a Slayer and blah blah blah.  The first time was interesting, the 
second okay, the third time watching it was annoying and I was fast 
forwarding through it by the sixth.  Make it go away, please!

On to the supplementary material. When Buffy was first released in VHS box 
sets, they included interview segments with creator Joss Whedon and actor 
David Boreanaz.  These same interviews are included on the DVDs.  Aside from   the TV trailers, photo gallery and cast biographies, there's also the script 
for the original pilot episode and a full-length audio commentary by Joss 
Whedon on the first two episodes.  He's the only doing the commentary, but he keeps the information coming and the anecdotes are well worth it.  Check out  how he ended up casting David Boreanaz.  It's a riot!  There are only a 
handful of times where he gets quiet, but he soon picks up the conversation 
and I look forward to hearing him again on further Seasons as they are
released.

It's too bad we have to wait until June for the next one because Region 2 is 
already up to Season 4 and they've already got Season 1 of "Angel" with 
Season 2 on the way.  As usual, the US lags behind when it comes to releasing 
television shows on DVD.  Still, this is a great effort and is nicely priced 
around $27 on the net, which includes shipping.  If you've never seen the 
show before, I urge you to take a look because I think you'll be pleasantly 
surprised.  I was and that's not an easy accomplishment.

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