When they can offer up "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series," it is time for the fans of Joss Whedon's classic cult television series to admit once and for all that the party is over. Whedon wanted to create a cultural phenomenon and a pop culture icon and since Buffy was named the 13th greatest television character of all time by BRAVO, he has clearly succeeded. He took the standard horror film cliché of the blonde in the alleyway being attacked by a monster and turned it upside down by having her slay the monster and for seven seasons "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" kept on with her mission. Watching these episodes again is a great walk down memory lane:
Season 1 (4.6 stakes) is only a dozen episodes but it sets the Buffy verse back on track as we get to forget the campiness of the theatrical film and face the fact that High School is Hell. Buffy Summers arrives in Sunnydale and has to contend with the Master and his minions, and then learn that Angel is a vampire. Meanwhile, Xander and Willow have their own dating problems, with giant insects and robots respectively. In "Prophecy Girl," when the Master kills Buffy, the Slayer returns the favor and then it is time to party.
Season 2 (4.8 stakes) contains what I consider to be the dramatic highpoint of the entire series, when Buffy tells Angel that she loves him, kisses him, and then kills him in "Becoming, Part II." It also has the episode that Whedon considers the show's mission statement in "Innocence," when Buffy learns that Angel has become Angelus after their night together and has to face down the Judge with a decidedly unforged weapon. But there are also the memorable moments when Buffy dances with Zander at the Bronze, Spike and Drusilla first arrive in Sunnydale, our first "Halloween" episode, Kendra the Vampire Slayer shows up, Joyce dates Ted, and Angelus arranges a grissly tableau of Jenny's corpse that sends Giles into a murderous rage. I can ever argue this season has the last truly bad "BtVS" episode with "Go Fish."
Season 3 (5 stakes) on balance is the best season of the show, with the first half story arc focusing on Faith the new Slayer in town combining with that of the Mayor in the second half to set up a most eventful "Graduation Day." Along the way we have SlayerFest '98, "Band Candy," "The Wish," a snow day in Sunnydale, the idiot ritual of the Cruciamentum, "The Zeppo," "Dopplegangland," Buffy's mind reading ability, and Angel showing up to dance with Buffy at "The Prom." At the end of the season Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley wander off to their own television series (see: "Angel: The Complete Series (Seasons 1-5)".
Season 4 (4.6 stakes) takes Buffy to college, which does not take. After dealing with demons, such as her roommate and Gachnar, Buffy has to deal with the secret military organization the Initiative, which is responsible for putting a bloody chip in Spike's head so he doesn't chase the other puppies anymore. The two memorable episodes come back to back, with Willow's will making some changes in "Something Blue" and the Emmy nominated "Hush." Buffy gets a new boyfriend in Riley Finn, Xander dates Anya, and Willow falls for Tara. The new Big Bad is Adam, and there are return visits from Faith and Angel to go with a first meeting with the First Slayer.
Season 5 (4.7 stakes) starts with Buffy meeting Dracula and ends with her sacrificing her life in "The Gift." Suddenly Buffy has a sister named Dawn, who turns out to be the Key sought by Glory, who is not a demon but a god. Buffy gives up on college, Riley gives up on Buffy, Spike orders up a Buffybot, Giles reopens the Magic Box and rebecomes Buffy's Watcher, and Joyce suddenly drops dead, a true portend of the WB finale.
Season 6 (4.5 stakes) begins with Willow calling Buffy back from her grave and ends with Darth Rosenberg trying to put the Slayer back in it. Buffy comes back somewhat different, as does Amy, Dawn becomes a kleptomaniac, and everybody ends up bursting into song. Buffy and Spike end up together, Willow and Tara end up apart, and Xander leaves Anya at the altar. That Dark Willow turns out to be the Big Bad instead of the Trio is one of the biggest surprises in the entire series as comic relief turns to real tragedy.
Season 7 (4.4 stakes) has the final Big Bad, the First, after Buffy from the very beginning. With potential Slayers all around the world being killed, Giles brings all the ones he can find to Sunnydale so that they can be trained for the Apocalypse to end the television series. Also added to the Scoobies are Principal Wood from the rebuilt Sunnydale High, and Andrew, the reformed and only remaining member of the Trio. Buffy and her friends have to get through the Ubervamp and Caleb to get to the first, and Faith and Angel return for the final battle, although the latter is just an errand boy.
Having watched the complete series from start to finish again this month only reconfirms how great this television series was, even if it did not end on the highest note possible. Whedon's vision remains intact along the way and concludes with a literal manifestation of female empowerment (it is too bad he could not do more commentary tracks, because his are far and away the best to be found on these DVDs). The cast proved to have a remarkable range of acting ability that allowed them to do everything from farce to high drama, often in the same episode. Sarah Michelle Gellar is one of the great criers of all time, there has never been a better best gal pal than Alyson Hannigan's Willow Rosenberg. The way that time and time again guest actors could turn minor roles into major parts, epitomized by James Marsters' Spike, is another key to the show's success. Add to this how all of the characters evolved over the years, although the process was usually something akin to a rollercoaster ride. Finally, the use of music throughout the series was exceeded only by its onslaught of pop culture references.
Most amazing to me is that after this operatic series reached its greatest aria with the powerful climax of "Becoming, Part 2" that it continued to be such a solid show. Even if the top was never again as high, the bottom certainly got raised up considerably after that point. This is a cult series for a whole lot of reasons and the only reason I do not touch on more of them is that I know these words are only being read by the faithful because the only people who are probably going to buy "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series" are going to be those who already have all seven season and are buying them for friends or family (so they will stop borrowing your copies).
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Perfect buy to replace all my original seasons. I love that it is more compact, a few little scuffs on the box, but doesn’t take away value for me as the disks are all scratch free and ready for my Summer time Buddy marathon.
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Richard Dean
Fantastic Series just buy it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2023
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Reviewed in Italy on March 19, 2021
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Reviewed in Italy on March 19, 2021
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