Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season One Retrospective

On a personal level it affected us. On a fan level it affected the nature of online fandom. It affected the role of women as lead characters. It spun a lot of imitations and became a huge cult favourite. It gave us a brilliant spin-off show and made it’s showrunner have a huge devoted fan-following.

So as a show that dragged me into the Cult TV Show following; it’s time to revisit Buffy Summers season-by-season as the DVDs are watched. So welcome to Part I of VII…

The original Scooby Gang.

From the revolutionary teaser which spins preconceptions on it’s head to the world of languages and lingo before any supernatural stuff happens – the pilot shows us Buffy Summers. Kicked out of her old school for setting fire to the school gym, it becomes apparent she has a dark secret. She slays Vampires, and she doesn’t really want to do it any more. With the help of her friends, Xander and Willow, and the guidance of her Watcher, Giles, she fights vampires and demons.

Overall, the first season is quite rough round the edges. It also has slightly dated (the cast look surprisingly young) and some of the stories suffer from the lower budgets and quality that it has (DVD is much better than video-tape quality). But there’s always things that give the show a certain spark: the writing and the characters. The dialogue is fresh, witty and a joy to listen to. It can be dramatic and comedic at the drop of a hat as well as being incredibly clever. It’s not for all tastes, true – but it still is very good writing. So whilst we get episodes about giant praying mantises and talking dummys that slay demons and invisible girls – the writing trumps everything.

It’s not like everything is bad, there’s some stronger episodes here. The two-part pilot, Angel and the season finale are some of the finest episodes in the series’ run. Angel has an impact all the way ‘til the end of the spin-off show Angel. Again it’s the writing, but also the character-led drama that runs alongside the pilots throughout all this. Even the dodgy episodes still have some stronger character development. There’s a strong sense of continuity in the show, meaning that you can see characters changing through the series. It lays a good foundation for future seasons.

But what of the episodes themselves?

Where It All Began...

Welcome to the Hellmouth

Watching the pilot is very weird. It’s hard to believe it was Late 1996 when it was filmed (it aired March 2007), but the cast look so young, so fresh. It’s also weird seeing the pilot template that a lot of shows do – newcomer in new place e.t.c. A lot of the staples of living a double-life does stem off from here; and shows now still have a similar premise. The show lays foundations that shows like Chuck would eventually follow. The writing and the core characters kick off straight away, with Xander shining straight away with his instant love of Buffy and his general humourous nature. The story is pure set-up (it is meant for a feature-length pilot) but is an entertaining ride.

The Harvest

The second half, and the seeds of friendship, the premise and ongoing storylines. There’s a nice little stand-alone plot resolved and some character have mini-emotional arcs resolved and it sets up the tone of the series perfectly. The balancing of two-lives is evidenced much better here, with Buffy jumping the school gate and her “if you don’t go out the world will end” scene with her mother. The show has it’s identity already by Giles’ “The World is Doomed,” line where some shows take much longer to be able to claim that. A great end to a great pilot.

Witch

The first ‘after the premiere’ episode, and the first of a major tradition in that they’re not that good. The main themes of the show in trying to juggle is really established here, getting the cheerleading thing out of the system. It’s mainly monster-of-the-week stuff with some dodgy guest-character acting in the form of Elizabeth Anne Allen.

Teacher’s Pet

The first real Xander-led episode which sort of deals with his crush on Buffy but involves Xander being attracted to a large preying mantis. Yes – it does feel as stupid as it sounds. Again, the writing and dialogue does win-out, as well as Xander’s dream in the teaser.

When Giles was the fool and Williow the shy geek...

The first real ‘arc’ episode for the show, in which there’s laying down of storylines for the rest of the season in the introduction of The Annointed One and the Master. It’s also the ‘can Buffy date’ episode in which she ends up trying to juggle a date with mystical occurrences. It’s by-the-book really, but it’s one of the first examples of the show’s ability to sweep you off your feet. The identity of the Anointed is kept secret and there is a strong sense of misdirection in that you actually think Buffy has killed the vampire they were after. Shame the Owen-plot is a bit dull, really.

The Pack

Shame a character as funny and likable as Xander ends up with another episode that seems bad on paper, but unlike Teacher’s Pet this is a stronger episode. There’s plenty of things that help with character development (as well as killing off the Principal) and the Xander/Willow/Buffy triangle takes some further developments as the romantic feelings begin to get stronger. Not a strong episode, more an average one. Beside from some dodgy acting and cringe-worthy moments it’s one of the ‘middle of the table’ episodes of the season.

Angel

One of the more important episodes of the BuffyVerse. Angel’s secret is revealed. It’s one of the first real shocks of the show, one of the better and stronger episodes of the series and another arc episode in terms of character development.

I Robot, You Jane

One of those episodes was better in the memory. In retrospect it’s quite mundane and very silly, but it is wrapped with some quite clever characterisation in terms of Giles and his technophobia. The last scene with the trio laughing about their lack of luck in love it quite a nice moment though.

The Puppet Show

Again, rewatching is a harrowing experience when you see that the episode is routed in an absolutely ridiculous premise and some bad characterisation. It does introduce Armin Shimmerman as Principal Snyder, possibly one of the most evil characters that the show has ever witnessed.

Nightmares

The first meeting of Buffy and The Master due to a boy who’s nightmares are leaking into reality, the episode is a great excuse to learn more of the characters, to see Buffy as a vampire and some development of characters. Xander faces his fear of clowns as well as her fear of the Master which helps in the season finale.

Out of Mind, Out of Sight

By the way, I really liked her dress....

The metaphorical ideals and mission statement is never more apparent here where the supernatural tries to work as an allegory for teenage problems. This time feeling alone makes you invisible, insane and inevitably as a psycho assassin for the FBI. Yeah, I can see how that acts a role model. But in terms of Cordelia the episode is the first episode not to have her as a real world foil, and allows for her to have some semblance of development which will lead to her actions in the finale.

Prophecy Girl

One of the strongest episodes of the entire show, and an indication of the quality that will happen in later seasons. The acting is top-notch (the “sixteen years old, I don’t wanna die” scene is always amazing to watch) and the action is decent if again a little sloppy (the hellmouth monster in hindsight is a little funny now) but the episode is a great little way to end the season. It gives a circular feeling of having an ending (it wasn’t sure if the show would have a second season at this point) so the characters do get some semblance of a send-off and scenes of redemption (including the treatment of Cordelia). The season’s highlight, and one of the best examples to show someone about the show.

So that’s the first season done and dusted. It’s actually strange to see Xander (The Role-Model of My Teenage Years) take a strong role in the episodes before he gets over-shadowed by newer female characters. There’s quite a number of episodes that haven’t really stood up to the test of time and look very silly and open to mockery nowadays.

But still a great show.