Back Catalogue; A look at Buffy the Vampire Slayer Series 1

Being the new kid in school can always be difficult, however when your school is located at Hellmouth then things may get a little messy. This is where we meet Buffy Summers our reluctant heroine, although she already knows her role as the slayer it does take a little time for her to warm up to the name.

Image courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.

Although when the series launched it was a new TV show, Buffy had already had an outing at the movies. However the tone of the series was similar but with a new cast the question was always going to be can the TV show endure?

Obviously in hindsight this seems like a daft question but a new show being headed by a young relatively unknown actress was always going to be a risk. Add to that the mix of horror, action and teen life and you could be facing disaster. From the first episode I was hooked I was always a vampire fan and this show was bringing a dark side to TV. The fact that Sarah Michelle Geller was an extremely charismatic lead (not to mention I had a huge crush on her) helped the show gain an audience, but it is the shows creativity that kept the audience tuning in. From the very opening of the first episode you are expected to believe in the normal format of a vampire attacking a damsel in distress, but this is expertly flipped around and so Buffy was born.

The first Season starts with a double header and has a twelve episode run; the first episodes are a particular highlight. Instead of rushing our introduction the story plays out over the two episodes, this allows the viewer time to adjust to the world and really starts Buffy off on a strong footing.

In these opening episodes we are also able to meet the Scooby gang as they are affectionately titled (by Xander). Although Buffy is a great central character the team around her are every bit as important in the shows narrative. The rag tag collection of a geeky girl (willow), a Librarian (Giles), a wise cracking want to be cool guy (Xander) and the dark and mysterious Angel. Each has their place of importance to the collective and will be the main stay of this series and some of what follows.

Although Buffy is called a Vampire Slayer she does have the ability to slay pretty much any evil creature and in this first season she will have to face monsters and witches and of course our fang touting bad guys. My personal favourite battle is from the episode entitled the Puppet show, I’ll not spoil the plot for you but the title should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

We do have a big bad in this series called the Master and as the name suggests he is the leader of the Vampires and although not in every episode he and his minions are always lurking. The Final episode is pretty epic and we really get see our lead performing at her best.

Ultimately Buffy was a great piece of pop culture. Watching the series again now, it still holds up even though the visuals are a little shaky. We will be taking a look at each season over the next few weeks but for now I’ll leave you with one of the most iconic quotes form the show from Giles

In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.