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Summary: Welcome To The World Of The Slayer...
Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is one of the most well produced shows on television, and this book illustrates that belief very well. The first "Watcher's Guide takes readers along on a hip, humorous and fantastic ride through the show's initial years. Authors Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder, have made the guide, with both the longtime fan and new viewer in mind. The book features all of the information that is relevant to be able to play catch up, while at the same time, giving fans enough "new" information, to keep you reading. This book is no mere episode guide. It covers all aspects of the series, from character bois, to locales in and around Sunnydale that are central to the show, right down to the songs and artists featured in the background. The book also takes a considerable look at what goes on behind the scenes. Creator Joss Whedon, the cast, and key producer and production folk, offer many on the set details that people WILL find intersting. Ever since I started watching the show, after the first season, I knew it would become "must see" on a weekly basis. The book is a perfect companion for the series. There are 298 pages in the book, with dozens of black and white photos, (and a full color photo spread too) and script excerpts as well Recommended for fans of the series, and those who want to get in on all the fun
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Summary: A great book.
Review: This is the official show guide for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", seasons one and two. It's awesome. It has a complete Sunnydale tour, a complete and interesting monster guide, a complete and detailed episode guide with quotes and behind the scenes info, music featured on the show the first two seasons, interviews with the cast and crew including Buffy genious Joss Whedon, plus high quality glossy cast photos to enjoy. This book has everything you need to know about "Buffy". So get this, and then get volume two, because you need these if you are a true Buffy fan. Especially if you have missed some episodes. Get this today.
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Summary: Pretty interesting though a bit lightweight
Review: I like the books by Kenneth Topping a lot more than the official guides. They are more fun, more informative, and because they aren't "official" can be fans more than authors maintaining an official relationship with the show. But having said that, this and its companion volume are both really informative. And although I knew all the quotes anyway, it was a lot of fun reading them all. The best part of the book is the interviews with people you normally don't hear as much about, like set designers and associate producers and such.
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Summary: An Indispensable Reference Work for the True Buffy Fan
Review: This is more than "The Official Companion to the Hit Show," this is the best volume covering the first two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder do a first-rate job. The episode guide has not only plot summaries but also include quotes, pop-culture references, continuity points, and sometimes dialogue that was cut. There are also 100 pages of interviews with Joss Whedon, the cast and crew. The second volume is coming out on Halloween and it is my top choice for this year's treat. I do not want to wait for Christmas for that one. You cannot be a Buffy the Vampire Slayer devotee and not own these volumes.
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Summary: First Watcher's Guide in a Must Have Series for Buffy Fans
Review: In "The Watcher's Guide," authors Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder, along with Keith R. A. DeCandido, have put together an "Official Companion" for the first two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that is a template of how such books should be done. Golden and Holder have already cut their teeth on the series, writing novelizations of episodes as well as original books individually and together, so they are perfect candidates for the job. This book is not one of those attempts to cash in on the success of the television show, thrown together as quick as possible and slapped with a cute title before appearing in a bookstore near you. This is a thoughtful effort by and for people who celebrate one of the best shows on television, a series that combines exciting action sequences with caustic wit and exquisite teenage pathos. Buffy episodes are covered in a very comprehensive but quite user friendly format. The plot summaries are fairly brief, serving more as reminders for those who have seen that particular episode rather than a more detailed description of what has happened for those who had the misfortune of missing the program (but if you need more you can certainly find it on-line at several excellent Buffy sites). However, there are several running categories for each episode: Quote of the Week with the episode's most memorable line; Love, Slayer Style which keeps track on the romantic developments in the series; Pop-Culture I.Q. to translate the arcane references; and Continuity to cover references to past episodes or highlight what is down the road. Sometimes we are treated to scenes/dialogue cut from the original teleplay and/or Buffy's Bag of Tricks, which keeps track of her expanding repertoire of weaponry. You will usually find a couple of trivia boxes containing interesting tidbits about a particular episode. The other significant strength of this collection is the hundred pages of Behind the Scenes material, consisting mostly of in-depth interviews with Joss Whedon along with the entire cast and crew. Other choice items dispersed throughout the pages are the Song Lists for the first two seasons; a list of spells, chants, and incantations not to try at home; and quips and quotations organized on a thematic basis. What impresses me is that every step of the way this book provides something more. There are the expected color photographs of the cast, but there are also color costume drawings. Along with the interview with stunt coordinator Jeff Pruitt there are sample story boards for several fight sequences. "The Watcher's Guide" is obviously the first in a series of must have referenced materials for Buffy devotees. The Monster Guide section has been expanded in the recently released Buffy the Vampire "Monster Book" and this Halloween the second Watcher's Guide, covering the third and fourth seasons of the show, is being released. It should not be surprising that as much care and effort has gone into these volumes as has gone into the production of the show. I am sure that next year we will be treated to the first such book for the Angel series as well.
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Summary: Not the best, but a must have for any avid fan
Review: This isnt the best book if you're looking for a behind the scenes one. But it is great when it comes to quotes. Behind the Scenes is more in the 2nd volume. This has an excellent array of quotes from seasons 1 and 2(which is what this book covers). It also has pretty good episode reviews, with some deleted scenes usually showing up along with some unknown facts. But it also has some information that I found boring, which included a tour of Sunnydale. But on the whole, not to bad of a book.
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Summary: One of the few essential Buffy books for the serious fan
Review: Any serious fan of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER will want this book on their shelf, along with its sequel THE WATCHER'S GUIDE II. The first volume contains a wealth of information about the first two seasons, while the second does the same for Seasons Three and Four. Unfortunately, there has not yet appeared a volume for the last three seasons. Hopefully that will be forthcoming. These volumes are valuable for a variety of reasons. First, the early sections give a summation of each major character along with a collection of humorous quotations. It then proceeds to an episode-by-episode summation, which is great because it provides a lot of information that is otherwise not that easy to obtain. But far and away the best part of the book--for me, anyway--is the final section, which contains a host of great and informative interviews with actors, directors, writers, and technical folk. This final section is great because while Joss Whedon is widely acknowledged to be the main creative force behind BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, he has always ruled with a light hand. BUFFY is clearly a team effort, and it is great to see the roles the various team players play in the construction of the series. Although the final episode of BUFFY has been shot, I hope this won't dissuade the publishers from producing a final WATCHER'S GUIDE to cover the final three seasons. I ardently believe that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is the new STAR TREK. Just as STAR TREK managed to attract more and more new fans over the decades, I believe that BUFFY will have an ever expanding fan base, as more and more people are persuaded to give it a try. The shows of the seven seasons will be in syndication for years, each season will be available on DVD within the next year and a half, and spin offs like ANGEL and the other projects that have been mentioned will keep the interest in BUFFY alive for years.
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Summary: "She Is The Chosen One...."
Review: Who would of thought that a mediocre box office flop starring Kristy Swanson from 1992 would turn into such a brilliant, groundbreaking television show?. My guess is no one. This guide to the first two seasons of this show will go down as one of the best TV show guides ever assembled. Fans will treat it as if it were their own special bible. That said, this is the number one starting point to go too to get the info on the show, the characters, and all of the background you could want. Authors Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder(who both write book for 'Buffy')outdo themselves with one incredible job. Here is what this amazing book gives you. It gives you a complete guide to the first two seasons of shows. That's 34 episodes, since the first season was a mid season replacement of only 12 episodes instead of the usual 22. These sections give you the cast list for every episode, as well as a pretty in-depth description of each episode. You also get the "quote of the week" which has some of the best lines from that episode. There is "Love, Slayer Style" which tells you what, or any, romantic things pop up in the episode. There is a section called "Pop Culture I.Q." which notes a line in the episode that would deal with something in, you guessed it, pop culture. "Buffy's Bag Of Tricks" tells what kinds of weapons or other things were used in the ep. "Continuity" details of things that are continued in an episode that were introduced in other episodes. Storylines, characters, or whatever. There are also times where they will includes dialogue from the original screenplay that wasn't used in the episode aired. You will also find little boxes with little bits and pieces of trivia and/or other interesting little facts. But before you get to the episode guide, you go through a little history of the town of Sunnydale. After that is the history of each character in the series, and that part ends with some choice dialogue moments from each character. The other important aspect to the show are the monsters. The demons. The vampires, and other nasties that lurk on this show. There is a 'Monster Guide' section that details the various beasties that have popped up in these first two seasons and given a little backstory on them as well. Anyone out there who is into the spells and chants and incantations on the show will be happy because there is a section talking about these three things and given snippets of chants and spells recited in the show. The other thing that runs rampant thru the show is love and relationships. There is a section called "Bloodlust" that deals with all of us. There are so many ups and downs in the 'love' department on this show, that those things could have a book all on it's own. The end of the book has biographies on the cast members and a brief interview with some of them. After the cast members, there are sections on crew members and some interviews with them. And if you like the music, the end of the book has the songs featured in every episode and tells you the name of the song and the name of the band/artist. If this isn't enough, there is also a nice helping of some great colored photos. This is a must have for anybody. Perfectly done and put together. The follow up, "The Watcher's Guide Vol.2" is the next step. It's even bigger and better than this one. I believe a "Vol. 3" will be out in the fall. Get this book. You can't go wrong. As perfect as they get.
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Summary: Hanging out in the Library
Review: For several years now, I have avoided buying this Watcher's Guide and its companion volume for seasons three and four. I'm not quite sure why - perhaps it was a last ditch effort to avoid the admission that I am an unregenerate Willow-holic. "After all," thinks me, "I have the DVD's, so who needs another reprise of the episodes?" Surprisingly enough, the descriptions of the episodes take only 40 pages out of 298 dedicated completely to the ground Buffy walks on and the air that Willow breathes. And everything else seasons one and twoish. There's intro to Buffy 101, a guide to living in Sunnydale, character, and monster guides, and a section on being in love on the Hellmouth. The section I like best is a series of articles and reviews on the cast, creative staff and crew. Until I saw the extras on the DVD's I somehow believed that Joss Whedon waved a magic wand and a new episode popped fully formed from his forehead. It's quite a revelation to understand the colossal effort it takes to create each Buffy episode. From research and writing to make-up and stunts, every one has to be at their peak during a rushed and grueling shooting schedule. Chock full of enough facts and quotes, this is the book to make you into a walking Buffy-pedia. The perfect tool to impress your friends and dash the hopes of your competition. Even if you feel you have been deserted for a werewolf. This is a fun book, put together by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder, the reigning king and queen of Buffy literature. A tiny but slapdash, but full of enthusiasm for the surprising success of a show about people who have all the issues of growing up absurd AND have to deal with a continuous flow of the creepies.
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Summary: If you're a fan of the show, you need the book.
Review: I missed the series as it was originally broadcast on the WB, had to wait and see reruns on FX, I've liked it from the start but always wanted to know more about what was going on. This book gives you a lot of information on each episode including background stuff and character quotes. You'll need it to really understand what's going on sometimes. I've got this book and the one for seasons 3/4, any fan should have them, there's just so much here it can be slow to wade through but worthwhile anyway.
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