1. We Were Introduced A Vampire Slayer Called Buffy
And so we come to the final stage of this article and the arrival of the best television show ever made (in my humble opinion). As we headed into the latter stages of the 1990s the world finally got to appreciate the genius of Joss Whedon with the arrival of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, a show that redefined action, horror, gender roles, social issues and post modernism for a new era. The show took a kooky concept, a high school girl who slayed vampires and demons at night while studying for class and struggling to fit in during the day. It actually sounds pretty silly (and Whedon's bastardised film version of Buffy kind of is) but out of that came an intelligent, gripping, fun drama that was loved by many. There were four elements that made the show so good. First was the approach to real world issues in a unique and innovative style. Social acceptance and exclusion (the invisible girl Marcy in season 1's 'Out Of Mind, Out Of sight'). The ultimate twist on a man changing character after sex (Angel turning evil after sleeping with Buffy in season 2's 'Innocence'). Lack of peer support leading to issues with authority and crime (Faith's arc in season 3). This is the tip of the iceberg. Fellow WhatCulture writer Kev Stewart recently took an in depth at the big
5 serious social issues Buffy tackled head on. Drugs. Death. Sexuality and homosexuality. Class. There are some big themes at play across Buffy. Secondly, it's the actors themselves. Joss assembled a brilliant cast for his show, none of them hokey or over dramatic as they could have so easily been. Sarah Michelle Gellar was never better than she was in Buffy. Just watch that raw emotion as she kills Angel in 'Becoming' or her struggle to adjust after being ripped out of Heaven in season 6. Alison Hannigan was a marvel as Willow, wonderfully endearing in her early years, and kick ass in her later witch-powered years. Nicholas brilliant goofy and big hearted as Xander. Authoritative Giles, played by Anthony Stewart Head, with a darker edge in his 'Ripper' persona. Wonderfully inappropriate Anya. Cool, zen-like Oz. Bitchy but not shallow Cordelia. Sassy techno pagan Jenny. The cast gave their all. Thirdly we have the dialogue. As a writer I can only hope to emulate the sharp, snappy dialogue that lifts even the weaker episodes (of which Buffy has few). I could go on and on about why it works but instead I'll present some of the funniest, wittiest quotes the show produced. Only
The West Wing with its fast cutting, intellectual speeches has matched this show for sheer dialogue greatness. Buffy: "I know this one. Slaying entails certain sacrifices, blah, blah, biddie blah, I'm so stuffy give me a scone." Xander: "I laugh in the face of danger, and then I hide until it goes away." Giles: All right. I'll just jump into my time machine, go back to the 12th century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show". Cordelia: "I came over here to tell Buffy to stop this craziness, and found you all unconscious--again. How many times have you been knocked out, anyway? I swear, one of these times, you're going to wake up in a coma" Tell me you didn't smile when you read those quotes. Finally its the story arcs that made this show amazing. Season 1 set the tone with the over-arching big bad (the Master) but in season 2, the show accelerated to a whole new level. The arrival Spike and Dru brought depth and darkness to the show, creating villains that we love to hate (or just loved) and led to the best story arc the show ever produced; Angel reverting to Angelus. Turning Buffy's love into the central villain was a work of genius and brought about many definitive moments. Angelus killing Jenny was shocking and followed by that cruel moment when he watched with glee as Buffy and Willow learned of her death. But it was Giles discovering her corpse amid roses that makes 'Passion' my all time favourite episode. And pretty much all of 'Becoming Parts 1 and 2' are amazing, particularly Angelus leading Buffy away from the library and leaving all her friends to a grim fate and the aforementioned final battle when she sent him to hell. This continued with season 3 with the 'rougue slayer' arc in Faith and the best villain ever created (sorry Spike), the Mayor. His ascension at graduation day led to one of the finest moments in the show's history, the students armed and ready for battle. Admittedly this show continued well into the next decade, finishing it's seven year run in 2003. But the creme dela creme of the show happened in its second and third seasons, ending cult TV in the 1990s with a bang! And that's it. Every decade has its moments of cult TV glory. We're in something of a renaissance now with show like
Games Of Thrones and
Doctor Who. But for me, I will always hold the 1990's in very high esteem. because that's when I became a geek. And I'm proud of it. With such great television, how could I not be?