Welcome to the Hellmouth

"The music of pain." (or at least adolescence)
For a first time screenwriter, Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a good effort for a feature film. I thought for sure the series was going to tank. When I started watching halfway through the first season, I quickly found that I was wrong. "Buffy" simply blossoms on television. I've been hooked ever since.

For the first time, Whedon has provided us with all the terrors of high school (remember those?) in a horror genre setting. Not only that, but he provides a confident, cool FEMALE character to trounce the bad guys. Whether you're a fan of the genre or a teenage feminist, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) provides a niche for the unpopular misfits in high school, but looks upon them as heroes. Were you as uncomfortable as Xander (Nicholas Brendon)? As geeky as Willow (Alyson Hannigan)? As quick with an aphorism as Oz (Seth Green)? The series proves that high school is indeed survivable no matter who you are, even if you're cliquish Cordelia (Charisma...

It's about time!
Finally, the complete first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available on DVD (rather than the boxed set previously available that contained only half of the episodes). While a little uneven in quality compared to later, more polished seasons, the series' trademark wit and pathos are in fine form in this set.

The set begins with the two-part series premiere, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest." These episodes introduce Buffy, a sophomore in high school and the Slayer chosen to fight the forces of darkness; Willow, the shy technology-savvy redhead; Xander, the goofy regular guy who happens to have a serious crush on the Buffster; Cordelia, the shallow queen always ready with an acerbic comment; and Giles, the staid school librarian and Buffy's watcher. Some important secondary characters are also introduced, like Angel, Buffy's future boyfriend, and Darla, Angel's vampiric ex-flame. The storyline involves the plans of the Master, a vampire, to escape...

Reconsidering the First Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Surely the legions of fans of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series appreciate the irony that now that the show is in syndication, the First Season (1997) is finally coming out on DVD. This still puts us behind the fans in Europe who can already get last season on video tape, but we will try to be patient, hard as that might be (But it was still a big mistake NOT to include "Prophecy Girl" in the first set of videotapes). Now that "BtVS" is into its Sixth Season and the Slayer is on her third life, this might be a good time to re-evaluate that first season. I therefore offer the following points for contemplation:

(1) The most important factor that gives the television series more depth than the movie is clearly the character of Angel (David Boreanaz), although the creation of the Scooby Gang is huge as well. But even more impressive than the fact that a vampire with a soul is in love with the Slayer is the fact that Joss Whedon holds off on this revelation until the...

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