Rating: 
Summary: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 101
Review: Let me preface this by saying I'm a 55 year old retired U.S. Marine who rented the movie (it tanked at the Box Office and at my house) and had no interest in watching a series based on that dog. Several years later, however, my youngest daughter came to visit me for a few days and started watching reruns of Buffy at the house. I sat down one day just to be with her and got hooked. This is a "blue collar" review of that series that I never intended to watch. Josh Whedon, the show's creator, put more thought into his character developement for the series than he had in the movie, it seems. Buffy, the Slayer (Sarah Michelle Geller) and one of the first real female heros on TV (most females in horror are air-headed and are eaten early in the script), is starting school in Sunnydale California in the middle of her sophmore year when the series begins. She had been expelled for burning down the gymnasium at her school in Los Angeles. Her mother has found a job in Sunnydale after her divorce and both she and Buffy are hoping to start fresh in a new place. It seems to work for Mom but Buffy becomes involved with a murder at the school in the very first episode. The cast includes Xander (Nicholas Brendan) the wise cracking comedy relief, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) the brainy naive nerd with no self confidence, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) the conceited, air-headed rich girl, Rupert Giles (Anthony Head) the "Watcher", expert on all things occult, and school librarian (he's English and quite proper), and finally Angel/Angelus (David Boreanaz) the vampire with a soul (due to a curse). Josh Whedon gives all of us who have followed vampires through the horror movies since our childhood a new twist. He gives us a better explanation of the making of vampires, the best history of vampires to date, and a good explanation of their existance on this plane. He also gives us Sunnydale California that sets atop the "Hellmouth" setting the stage for not just vampire stories but tons of demons, werewolves, and other evil creatures mixed in with your everyday teenager. Trust me, as a father of four daughter who were all teenagers at one time, the teenager part is scary enough. This season's twelve episodes were filmed on a shoestring budget with several different directors due to the uncertainty of the show being picked up. The actors do a great job, making you really care about the well being of their characters and the writers manage to give the show a mini-series feeling (ending an episode but referring back to it often), mix in really good gags to lighten the show at some very strange times, and manage to tell a broad, twelve show, master story that is concluded in the final episode for the year. As with later seasons, the final episode has a larger part of the season budget than the previous eleven to give the season a more spectacular ending. While there is a master story and master villan for the season, we see periodic detours involving non-related evil guys who are endangering human life. Buffy's friends, later to be known as the Scoobies", help her as they can, give us plot twists as they are in danger either individually or collectively, and help her cope with everyday high school life. Giles becomes her father figure, Willow her best friend, and Angel (the tall dark mysterious figure who drops in to give her warnings and cryptic messages) eventually becomes her love interest until she learns that he is in fact a vampire. If you are looking for light hearted entertainment and have always thought movies didn't tell their stories well enough, you will probably love this series. The first season dispite it's low budget is very good but after getting picked up by a Network it gets much better in the following seasons. I recommend this season for everyone though it does have a great deal of violence (for me that's a plus).
Rating:
Summary: Not the best season but...
Review: Season one isn't the best but it's a helluva lot better than the movie. It also introduces some of my fav characters Cordelia, Willow, Giles, and my all time favorite ANGEL!!! Also the master is kinda cool and who doesn't think Sarah is an uber hottie? It's great to get an intro into the world but if you seen it, don't buy unless your a collector. A little steep at $30 for 12 eps but that's the price you pay for a complete set.
Rating: 
Summary: The start of something special
Review: When Buffy was released on TV I was in the sixth grade and I thought it was stupid. Now I'm graduated from high school and am a bit wiser then the snobby little punk I once was. I Purchased the First season finding it at a 20 dollar price and I thought what the heck. I didn't know that I was heading into one of the most creative and well-done shows That I will ever find. I was just hoping for a laughThe gang is pretty much all assembled at the beginning. Buffy is the leader, Willow is the heart, Xander is the humor, Giles is the brain, Cordelia the popular girl we all knew and hated back in high school, and Angel the man no one really trusts. While it's easy to stereotype the characters in this fashion (and not totally inaccurate until Season 2 rolls around) each one does evolve gradually. These are all people that we knew and sat next to in class. The first season consists of twelve episodes that with a couple of exceptions are all carefree lighthearted monster of the week fare. What makes the episodes work so well is the imaginative way each monster is presented. All the characters find a bit o humor in the situations they so frequently seem to get placed in. And it's nice to get a comfortable feel for everything before it all goes to hell. What struck me most though while watching these episodes was the feel that those involved had might not have had a single clue what they were doing. It was a show that didn't really fit into any discernible genre on a network that was brand new with a budget that was freakishly low for some of the stories they were trying to pull off. But I really think it worked towards the shows advantage. The fact that everyone involved was learning as they went and that the effects are terrifically cheesy gives the show an organic quality. Plus it kind of doubles as a high school metaphor for the problems that we faced seemed to consume the world back then. Now those problems just seem like typical kid stuff when i look back. Well I'm now addicted, snatching up each box set with a fervor that causes my roommate to constantly be rolling his eyes (although He knows a lot of what happens through out the entire series.) some people will probably never be able to get beyond their precepts about it. And that is truly a shame.
Rating:
Summary: Buffy season 1
Review: After the movie tanked in the theaters, Joss Whedon got a second chance with the TV show. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" picks up a year after the movie. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Geller is cute and tough convincingly) arrives in Sunndale to find that her destiny has followed her from Los Angeles. The Master(Mark Metcalf), one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world, is trying to get out of his prison underneath the earth, specificly underneath the school library. That is his goal for the season. But Buffy isn't alone. She has a new Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) who is invaluable sorse of knowledge and training. Buffy also finds some friends her own age; Willow (cuttie Alyson Hannigan, nice pony tails), a high school computer nerd; Xander (Nicholas Brendon starts out cold, but gets better along the way,), just a high school dork with a big heart; and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter plays vain well), a rich cheerleader snob who is Buffy's social rival. Also there is the mysterious Angel (David Boreanaz is the James Dean of vampires, even this early in the character) who comes and goes with crypric warnings of danger. All the actors do well this season, but they seem a little uneasy, but that is just growing pains, and it's easily over looked. The season is a little shorter because it was a mid season replacement. I loved the 16mm look, it was grainy and looked haunted in all the right places (in the sewers, caves, and abandoned werehouses), which smartly contrasted the sunny Southern California location. It's like a Hammer movie meets the Vally Girls.
Rating:
Summary: Who is Sarah Michelle Gellar compared to?
Review: When I look at Xander Harris and Rupert Giles these two guys are a lot alike. They both hate school, they know what it's like to be left out, they are outcast, they love researching and vampire hunting, their like 1990's James Bond Pierce Bronsnan, Willow had a crush on both of these two, they care about Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Dawn Summers and their like American Pie Guys Xander is like Kevin Meyers, Jim Levinstein and Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher, Rupert Giles is like Paul Finch. Anthony Stewart Head should of played James Bond in Goldeneye instead of Pierce Brosnan. Sarah Michelle Gellar was doing Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the set she's Buffy, off the set Sarah Michelle Gellar is Willow Rosenberg. Sarah Michelle Gellar is more like Willow Rosenberg than Buffy Summers.
Rating:
Summary: What the television show is like.
Review: A televsion show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is like American Pie and X-Files at once. Buffy Summers is like Vicky and Jessica. Xander Harris is like Kevin Meyers, Jim Levinstein and Chris "Oz" Ostreicther. Willow Rosenberg is like Michelle Flaherty and Rupert Giles is like Paul Finch. Cordelia was like female steve stifler.After she was gone in the third season, they need somebody love to hate so they brought in Spike. William the Bloody Jr "Spike" is like Steve Stifler with a british accent. Dawn is a young Michelle Flaherty type. Daniel Osborne "Oz" was like Chris "Oz" Ostreicther. Riley Finn was like Jim Levinstein and Chris "Oz" Ostreicther. Tara McClay was like Heather.
Rating:
Summary: Great Start for One of the Best TV Shows of all Time!
Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite television shows and Sarah Michelle Gellar is fantastic as Buffy Summers, and so are Allyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Nicholas Brendan as Xander Harris, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles and David Boreanaz as Angel and we are also introduced to a great character named Darla played by the terrific Julie Benz! The first season is very good and the seasons keep getting better and better and I recommend them all! There are a lot of superb episodes but some of the best are Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Harvest, Witch, Teacher's Pet, Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, The Pack, Angel, Nightmares and Out of Mind. I know some reviewers are saying that anyone who buys the first 4 seasons individually instead of the season 1-4 DVD set is stupid but for some of us that wasn't yet an option when we first started buying the DVD sets and it's not like we are going to buy what we already have! BTW: if you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the great spinoff Angel also check out the TV show Charmed. Buffy is my favorite of all but Angel and Charmed are also very good and have mixes of horror, fantasy, comedy, drama, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Half Not Bad
Review: "I may be dead, but I'm still prettier than you. Which is more than I can say for you." - Buffy to Master, Prophecy Girl What is it about BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER we love about so much? Is it the kick-ass punching and kicking the Slayer does week by week? What makes us care so much about our Slayer and her Scooby friends? BUFFY is without a doubt the best damn show on television. Regardless if it's over. There are so many episodes worth watching over starting from the beginning. And the frist season of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER isn't half bad. It was interesting watching these characters grow up, like watching your favorite characters growing with each passing season. And what I love about the first season of BUFF THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, is that it had a great way of teen drama that deals with about this one girl, Buffy, who was often misunderstood. And she and her friends would always solve the mystery of Sunnydale and why things happen the way they do. The first half season was great, and it keeps getting better. Who could not possibly watch BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and don't like it? Someone not human, that is for.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning of a Marvel!!!
Review: All great things have a beginning and this is it for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The first season sets the stage for a television show that can grab you by the heart and not let go. In the first season we are introduced to several of the main characters that continue with the show through the end. We meet Buffy, the star of the show, who without, there would be no show; the timid Willow, who has not broken out of her shell just yet; the hilarious, and witty, Xander, who tries as hard as he can to get the girls he wants and to fit in; the prestigious, Giles, who's guidance helps Buffy fight the forces of evil; the preppy, material, Cordelia, who realizes something weird is going on, but is too popular to let it stop her ambitions; and the vampire with a soul, Angel, who despite being a vampire, looks a whole lot younger than in later seasons. The special effects in season one aren't as sophisticated as in later seasons, but the storylines are just as great. When you first watch this season you get swept away by the main characters and several of supporting cast members. This is the best place to start in on the hype of Buffy. But, beware, if you are like me and many of my friends, you too could become addicted to what is "The World of Buffy".
Rating:
Summary: Buffy kicks vampire butt on DVD.
Review: The show may be over, but you can still enjoy BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER on DVD, beginning with the First Season. Filled with very funny comedy and quite enjoyable horror, the earlier seasons were no doubt more lighthearted and enjoyable than the final few. Some of the highlights of the season are "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest", the 2-part episode that introduced the characters and everyone's favorite vampire, Angel; "Angel", in which we learn the true form of the young lady-killer; "The Puppet Show", about a talent show gone bad; "Nightmares", one of my favorites, about the nightmare world of Buffy and friends; and the grand finale, "Prophecy Girl", which could've killed Buffy forever - if you believe it did, I hope The Master finds you and sucks your puny little lifeforce. BUFFY was an awesome show and one of my favorites. Don't miss out on the horror-filled, comedic-overtoned first season. Long live the Slayer.
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