I AM ON STRIKE. I DEMAND THAT THE 10P RATE FOR WRITNG AND THE 2P RATE FOR READING BE REINSTATED. UN...
I AM ON STRIKE. I DEMAND THAT THE 10P RATE FOR WRITNG AND THE 2P RATE FOR READING BE REINSTATED. UNTIL THEN, I WRITE AND READ NO MORE.
Member since:11.07.2001
Reviews:35
Members who trust:14
It all started innocently enough – my brother in-law (with whom I happen to share my warped taste in all things fantasy orientated, much to my sister’s everlasting disgust) inherited a couple of box sets of the ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ TV episodes from some friends who relocated to the USA.
Yes, I had once seen the original movie (thought it was a tad lame but enjoyed the idea that a vampire slayer could be named ‘Buffy’, of all things – a genuine idea scraped up from the recesses of some loony writer’s mind.) and had, on occasion, watched a TV episode or two when I happened upon it while channel surfing. However, I was not prepared for how hooked I would get once I started to watch these box sets, right from episode one.
I’m terrible. I am always in the mood for videos over the weekend, no matter what the weather outside, and so one particularly boring Saturday, I borrowed the first box set off Andrew and: nearly lost my job, pissed off my neighbours, and had the rest of my family in serious doubt as to my faculties. Because I just could not stop watching.
Okay. Perhaps I am sad, but I can explain why I see this series as a fantastic escape.
Vampires are not a new idea, but the fact that vampires have EVOLVED somewhat in the last couple of hundred years is one that everyone seemed to have missed until Ms. Summers came along. Okay, the Holy Water, garlic, wooden stakes and beheading theories are all still in place, but what about the ‘new look’ facial garb? Quite brilliant, I thought. It was definitely a step up from the simple elongated incisors, slicked back hairdo and white faces of old! We now have yellow catlike eyes, furrowed foreheads, and fangs to die for…(Hee! Hee! Couldn’t resist…) As well as the fashion trends of 1999, instead of crappy old capes and bowties. It all lends itself to the idea of modern vampires in a modern setting very well.
I have always found stories based in American
schools interesting…perhaps because I went to an all-girls institution where we all wore the same uniforms. There is enough there to get the imagination flowing already – imagine, being able to dress exactly how you want instead of all looking identical. I feel I was cheated out of something there. So when Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and other various friends step out in their costumes, I must say that the outfits are enough to keep me occupied for at least ten minutes…so, full marks for the costume department.
The good guys: Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia and Oz. Somehow, you get to like each individual for completely different reasons. Perhaps my age dictated that I got the hots for Giles, the erring librarian, who turns out to be much more of a bad boy than his dishevelled Tweed suits let on. Cordelia I liked because I disliked her so intensely from the word go, and thought she needed a good slap on many occasions. I often wondered how she managed to become part of the initial group since she was such a shallow little drama queen. (I am still trying to get my head around that one.) Xander, for being a complete loser, but still always trying, and failing at everything. Willow: a sweet, unassuming Jewish girl who becomes a practising Wicca as the show progresses. Buffy, being able kick vamp butt about the place, still manages to be so level-headed, and still remembers that she is an angst-ridden teen with all the usual great problems you think you have when you’re that age. And Oz…well, for not having that much to say, and for surprising me by being a werewolf.
The bad guys: oh, there is literally a string to mention, so I will just concentrate on the most memorable. The Master: ugly little bugger (Series One), Spike and Drusilla (Series Two), to my mind the best of them all. Faith, the slayer turned bad, and the Mayor, who ended up being toasted lizard, but who had a damn good sense of humour, right up to the end. (His last words being: “Oh, SH*T!” before he got blown to kingdom come by a library full of dynamite.) Adam/The Initiative…mmm, think we were running out of ideas here, but you only get so far in trying to flog a head horse.
The good, the bad and the tasty: Angel…yes, the Irish Vamp with smouldering looks, who had a gypsy spell cast on him to stop him being so bloody naughty, and Buffy’s doomed love interest. You either love or hate him in varying degrees. At first I thought he was the dog’s bollocks, and then he turns nasty after having the gypsy spell broken. I couldn’t have hated anyone more. Then, he comes back from the everlasting hell fires (or whatever) and tries on the suffering puppy routine…I just started to get a little annoyed with him for turning into such a woos. I thought his innocent boy persona was wonderful, and his bad boy persona was WICKED!
So there you have the line-up. The plot simply runs along a skeleton idea that Buffy is the Chosen One, she would rid the world of all the evil things, and who is blessed with Superhuman powers in order to do so. The hook of having a Slayer fall in love with a vampire (as never the twain should meet) is powerful enough to get you pretty much involved in wondering how the story turns out. While this is being played out, there are any number of seemingly unconnected sub-plots and episodes that take a turn from the main story, just to keep you interested, and have you hankering to go back to the main storyline.
Largely a mirror of contemporary America, the added English and Irish influences serve to keep the story on middle ground, rather than ending up as yet another idea that has been pinched and hailed as American. After all, we all know that vampires are an English thing (nothing like putting your head on a block, Suz…if I am wrong, just deal with it, for god’s sake!) as England is where the ‘Gothic’ genre of writing comes from originally. Not only is it a story of vampires, it involves the whole works of hairy, fanged and horned so-called creatures of myth: a plethora of werewolves, African spirits, demons in all their varieties, witches, ghosts and the like. Plenty to sink your teeth into…
A lesser known fact about this series is that a large number of the subjects are indeed researched and put to you in its truest form imaginable. It may be cause for some concern if you have young children watching as it presents a wholly truthful aspect of many of the lores, practises and cults that are still very much alive and carrying on quite happily while you are totally unaware. After having done my own research into such things for my novel, I began to realise that it was only a small dose of Hollywood glitz that had been sprinkled to give the series it’s fantastical appeal. Kids, don’t try this at home, springs to mind here.
So, if you have managed to see beyond the teen angst and the school ground setting, you will realise that there is far more to the series than a little blond bimbo kicking vampire butt. In the later seasons, the plots become far more adult in content (subjects covered are lesbianism, sexual appetites and child abuse) as I suppose can only be expected if the characters have now moved on to college, but I also feel that they lose some of the earlier innocence and perhaps a large part of it’s youth appeal. The series definitely grows as the characters do. Very true to life.
There is action aplenty, love stories that tug at the heart strings, mystery that surrounds characters, real life experiences and a whole lot of graveyard scenes…if the cult status of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is anything to go by, it is likely to appeal to anyone, no matter what age, that loves a little bit of gothic fantasy brought into our immediate lives.
The series is now currently available in box set up to Season Five. The first season is a mere three tapes, comprising of three to four episodes per tape, the last tape usually only having three episodes because the grand finale is usually longer than the proceeding ones. (The Boss level…) Seasons Two, Three, Four and Five are available in double boxed sets, comprising of six tapes per season, with the same amount of episodes as Season One on each tape.
I have seen the series retailing from £19.99 to £25.99 per box of three tapes in the high street stores. Presented in the typical ‘box’ of most sets, the spines of the tapes themselves are a puzzle which form one complete picture of the current characters when in their correct order. (I thought it clever, so mentioned it if these little quirks get you going!)
Give it a go. No-one has to know…
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Denholm Elliott, Brian Cox, Sian Phillips
Production Year: 1978 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis
Advantages: The most innovative, entertaining, thought-provoking show on television, all in the same box. Like having a novel playing before you... Disadvantages: Not as good as Buffy gets, but a vital introduction...
Advantages: The most innovative, entertaining, thought-provoking show on television, all in the same box. Like having a novel playing before you... Disadvantages: Not as good as Buffy gets, but a vital introduction...
![Complete Buffy Collector's Edition Box Set (Series 1-7) [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/83399588.jpg "Complete Buffy Collector's Edition Box Set (Series 1-7) [DVD]")
Aug 25th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
