The Cool Channel DVD Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season One

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 09.01.2005

Fighting evil never looked so good.

Named one of TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Shows", Buffy managed to combine a mix of self-referential humor and horror without diluting either one. I still maintain that this is the best written series of the past 25 years (although "24", "The Shield" and "Lost" have gotten off to very good starts as well).

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Season One

Created by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, and Anthony Stewart Head

Episode 1.01 - "Welcome to the Hellmouth"
W: Joss Whedon
D: Charles Martin Smith
Original Airdate: March 3, 1997

Synopsis: After the events of the feature film (or at least original screenplay), Buffy Summers (Gellar) arrives in Sunnydale with her single mom (Kristine Sutherland) to start afresh. Unlike L.A., where she was ultra-popular, fitting in here is a little more difficult. Queen Bee on campus, Cordelia (the aptly-named Charisma Carpenter) has designs on making her a member of the chick clique. Those plans are derailed when Buffy becomes friends with outcasts Willow (Hannigan) and Xander (Brendon). The librarian Rupert Giles (Head) is also a Watcher -- trainer of the Vampire Slayers -- but Buffy is reluctant to reassume her duty. However, it appears that Sunnydale's high school is built on a Hellmouth -- a hole that allows demons and strange occurrences to come up (and fuel the show). Not only that, the Hellmouth is opening wider, allowing more evil to emerge, or so says the mysterious, brooding stranger (David Boreanaz) that Buffy meets in a dark alley. When Xander and Willow discover that Buffy is the Slayer, it puts them at risk. The vampires trick Willow and friend Jesse ("Six Feet Under's" Eric Balfour) into a mausoleum. It's up to Buffy to make the save.

Introduces: Everyone. Including Darla (Julie Benz, who lost out to Gellar for both Buffy and Kendall on "All My Children") and Luke ("The X-Files'" Brian Thompson), two vampires in service to the evil Master vampire.

Interesting Notes: Joss Whedon wanted to go back and add Jesse (Eric Balfour) to the opening credits so that, when he died, it would come as a greater shock. However, there wasn't enough money in the budget. Also, Sarah Michelle Gellar originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia while Charisma Carpenter auditioned for the role of Buffy. Other Buffy wannabes included Katie Holmes and Selma Blair.

Best Line/Moment: "What kind of name is Buffy? Oh, hey Aphrodesia!"

Analysis: Obviously, it didn't take long to see that this show was superior in almost every way to the movie. The dialogue is superb, even if it doesn't age all that well. The show gets set up as an allegory for teenage life. (Vamp nail polish is out. James Spader is in, in case you didn't already know, duh.) Gellar's Buffy is not only more vulnerable than Swanson's in the film, making her more sympathetic, she has switched from dumbass to smartass. The supporting cast is excellent too. Whedon should get down on his knees at night and thank God for giving him Alyson Hannigan, who binds the show together both as a dramatic and comedic actress. Brendon and Head are also terrific in their roles. That's not to say that "Welcome" doesn't have its share of problems, as Whedon mentions in his DVD commentary. Mostly "working the kinks out" kind of stuff. The relationship between Buffy and Giles is a little more "intimate" (read: icky) than it would later become. Buffy mentions how much she doesn't like Angel, which is pretty much a pre-hookup cliché. The cast also seems a little uncomfortable in their roles (with the exception of Head and Sutherland). Of course, all of this would be ironed out by season's end. A-


Episode 1.02 - "The Harvest"
W: Joss Whedon
D: John T. Kretchmer
Original Airdate: March 10, 1997

Synopsis: The vampires kidnap Jesse and take him to the demonic vampire Master (Mark Metcalf). Giles gives everyone some background on the mythology. Vampires. Slayers. Et al. Willow provides some much-needed help by being an expert computer hacker -- well, an expert Googler. Buffy tracks them back to the mausoleum, where she meets up with the stranger again. This time, she gets his name -- Angel. Buffy heads down into the electrical tunnels to get Jesse back. Against her wishes, Xander shows up too. During research time, Giles realizes that the Master's ascension (the Harvest of the title) happens tonight. Buffy and Xander find Jesse, but he's already a vampire and leads them into a trap, which they narrowly escape. Meanwhile, the Master plans to free himself from his imprisonment by having Luke be a surrogate feeder -- at local hot spot "The Bronze." Complicating matters is Buffy's clueless mom, who doesn't want her to go out and repeat her earlier mistakes in L.A. Buffy sneaks out and saves the Bronze kids from Luke, preventing the Master from freeing himself. The next day, things are decidedly back to normal.

Introduces: Harmony (Mercedes McNab), who, like many others, went from being a bit player to a recurring character.

Best Line/Moment: (tie) 1. Willow tricks an extra-bitchy Cordelia into deleting her entire computer assignment. 2. Buffy's mom says that she realizes everything to a 16 year-old is "the end of the world" -- the whole idea of the series.

Analysis: On par with the opener, this episode nicely balances action and mythology. Xander, Willow and Giles are forced to get their hands dirty (although Xander in a hilarious, accidental way). As with the series as a whole, the contrivances to keep the town ignorant stretch believability -- Cordelia laughs the attack off as rival gangs the night after the Harvest. Thankfully, that would be dealt with in Seasons 2 & 3. Taken as a whole, the two episodes that open the series are high quality entertainment, and one wishes that they had been the feature film. A-


Episode 1.03 - "Witch"
W: Dana Reston
D: Stephen Cragg
Original Airdate: March 17, 1997

Synopsis: Giles is furious that Buffy has been so irresponsible as to join a cult…of cheerleaders. Things go wrong for the tryout favorite when she spontaneously combusts! Investigation reveals witchcraft. Could it be Amy, the pressured daughter of a huge cheerleading legend? Or maybe it's Cordelia, the obsessive social climber. Nope. Can't be Cordelia because someone just blinded her with a spell and nearly killed her during her driving lesson. Buffy leans toward Amy, so they try to test her during chem class (where they have all the ingredients). Yep, her skin turns blue when Buffy spills the formula on her. Unfortunately, Amy has stolen the bracelet that Xander gave to Buffy and used it to cast a spell that makes Buffy all hyper. ADHD Buffy gets kicked off the team, finally giving Amy the spot. Only the spell doesn't end there. If Buffy doesn't reverse the spell, she will die. SWERVE! It turns out that Amy's mother has switched bodies with Amy in order to relive her glory days. Giles grabs her spell book and reverses all the spells just in time to save Buffy. In the ensuing fight, Amy's mom accidentally traps her own soul in a cheerleading trophy in the school's hall of fame.

Introduces: Amy (Elizabeth Anne Allen) as a witch who will play a larger role in later seasons.

Best Line/Moment: When Giles wonders why someone would want to harm Cordelia, Willow answers, "Maybe because they met her?."

Analysis: The first of the non-mythology episodes has a number of great moments, but just doesn't hold up as a whole. Too much information is revealed in a klutzy manner, especially when Amy tells Buffy about her mother. The subplot about Xander's attempts to ask out Buffy make him look really pathetic instead of just likeably spastic. The body-switching twist lifts the episode slightly above average. (Twists are something at which this series excels). C+


Episode 1.04 - "Teacher's Pet"
W: David Greenwalt
D: Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: March 24, 1997

Synopsis: Buffy finally makes one friend on the faculty, and he gets eaten by a giant bug. Meanwhile, Xander's woman problems appear to be over when Miss French (Musetta Vander), a substitute with a Praying Mantis fixation, replaces him. When the teacher's body is found without a head, that, coupled with Angel's cryptic warning, leads Buffy to a one-handed vampire. A more likely candidate, though, is Miss French, who likes to eat cricket sandwiches. When bug lady lures Xander and BMOC Blayne down to her basement for some mating and head-chomping, its up to Buffy to find them and save them.

Historical Moment: The first episode directed by regular Bruce Seth Green.

Interesting Note: During Xander's dream, he plays a Warlock model guitar.

Best Line/Moment: Buffy's plot to use bat sonar to disorient the giant bug goes awry when Giles leaves the cassette tape on the wrong side.

Analysis: Silly episode that falls into the clichés that the series normally made fun of, especially the final shot. It does have some moments, but they are few and far between. "Teacher's Pet" does have two good "teen moments." First, as Buffy takes her teacher's advice to heart and does some studying that pays off later and then as Xander lives out every boy's worst horror -- having everyone find out you're a virgin. An unfortunately pedestrian episode. C-


Episode 1.05 - "Never Kill a Boy On a First Date"
W: Rob Des Hotel, Dean Batali
D: David Semel
Original Airdate: March 31, 1997

Synopsis: Buffy and Giles find a clue pertaining to the Order of Aurelius, a dangerous vampire sect that's a harbinger of the Anointed (Andrew J. Ferchland). Buffy can't be bothered by that, though. She's too busy fighting with Cordelia over brooding loner Owen. Meanwhile, on a bus trip into Sunnydale, a proselytizing weirdo causes the vehicle to crash, and a group of vampires attack. Buffy's numerous attempts at landing Owen keep getting interrupted by the prophecy. Giles gives her the night off so she can go on a date, but there's no rest for the weary. When Giles gets trapped in the funeral home, it's up to Buffy to find him and rescue him. Curious Owen follows her to the funeral home and it becomes a matter of saving Giles from vampires and keeping Owen from finding out what's going on. Unfortunately, Buffy realizes that Owen just wants to be with her because he's a thrill seeker. Not only that, but it turns out Buffy has killed the wrong vampire -- the Anointed is a small boy!

Introduces: The Anointed, who will be oddly underutilized in future episodes.

Best Line/Moment: (tie) 1. Buffy gives up her hot date for sitting around in a graveyard because of Giles' miscalculation. 2. Xander's Tweety Bird watch.

Analysis: A rebound show that focuses more on comedy and Buffy's social life (or lack thereof) than action and mythology. The first episode that really shows how difficult it's going to be for Buffy to have a social life and be a slayer, something that will plague her until the final episode of the series. The downshot is that Owen seems like a bit of a dunce for someone so into Emily Dickinson. B-


Episdoe 1.06 - "The Pack"
W: Matt Kiene, Joe Reinkemeyer
D: Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: April 7, 1997

Synopsis: A group of bullies sneaks into the hyena house during a class field trip to the zoo. When Xander goes after them, the hyenas possess them, turning them all into (more) obnoxious jerks. Of course, they only prey on the weak (Willow, nerdy Scott, and a poor fat kid at the Bronze). Unfortunately, the weak also includes Herbert, the school mascot and…Principal Flutie. Buffy locks Xander up in the library, and leaves Willow to guard him while she goes to investigate. The zookeeper tells her that after the pack feeds, it will track him down. Buffy saves Willow and returns the kids to the zoo. However, it turns out that the zookeeper wanted the power for himself all along. He sucks the hyena power out of the kids and tries to eat Willow, but Buffy and Xander stop him. In the end, he falls into the hyena cage and…well, you can guess the rest.

Best Line/Moment: Buffy tells Giles that he's "trying to Scully her" when he's skeptical about Xander's behavior being supernatural phenomena.

Analysis: As with "Star Trek" and its moral quandries, early "Buffy" shines best when it's less sci-fi and more "High School Confidential." In this case, high school cliques are explored -- not exactly a difficult target, I know, but one that's been given a new spin in "The Pack." Of course, the episode has its share of thrills as well, especially when the hyena kids start chanting people's names. Excellent direction by Green, particularly on Flutie's demise. Plus, Brendon gets a chance to shine as an unbearable lout. B


Episode 1.07 - "Angel"
W: David Greenwalt
D: Scott Brazil
Original Airdate: April 14, 1997

Synopsis: Angel saves Buffy from "The Three", a gang of mercenary vampires so she invites him for a sleepover…just to be safe. However, when Buffy kisses him, he accidentally reveals that he is a vampire! Love is complicated. Complicating matters further is Darla, who it turns out, is an old flame of Angel's and wants a reunification. Giles' investigation turns up stories of Angelus, one of the most vicious vampires on record. When Darla attacks Buffy's mom, Buffy mistakenly thinks that it was Angel. Buffy sets out to kill Angel while Darla sits back and waits for him to return to her. When Buffy tracks him down, Angel tells her about a Gypsy curse that has given him his soul back -- something that torments him every day of his non-life. Buffy also learns that Darla was the one who sired Angel centuries ago. When Darla attacks, it is Angel who is forced to kill her (for the first time). Although disaster is averted, Angel feels that a relationship would just be too difficult.

Analysis: The first true emotional roller coaster episode -- something that would become a trademark for the show. An excellent metaphor for teenage love. Angel tells Buffy he has feelings for her, but she has every reason to believe he's lying. Who doesn't experience that kind of doubt at 16? A


Episode 1.08 - "I Robot…You Jane"
W: Ashley Gable, Thomas A. Swyden
D: Stephen Posey
Original Airdate: April 28, 1997

Synopsis: When Willow spends her free time scanning Giles' ancient books into the computer for safekeeping, she accidentally unleashes a demon named Moloch that gets stuck in the computer system -- and since the computers are connected to the internet, he can get everywhere. At about the same time, Willow meets an online friend named Malcolm, of whom the others are suspicious. Wallflower Willow, who doesn't exactly have a full date schedule, is so happy to have someone that she begins to withdraw. When Malcolm begins to use computer geeks to do his bidding, he becomes very dangerous. Giles realizes, when he finds the empty spell book, that Moloch is in the computer. He recruits Miss Calendar (Robia LaMorte) to help put Moloch back in the book. Meanwhile, Moloch/Malcolm's minions have created a new robotic body for him, and it's up to Buffy and Xander to stop it.

Introduces: Jenny Calendar, Sunnydale High's computer instructor and techno-pagan.

Interesting Notes/Flubs: When Malcolm brings up Buffy's personnel profile, it says her birth date is Oct. 24, 1980. When he later sends it to Fritz, it says that she was born on May 6, 1979 and that she is a senior in high school. Both times, it says she only has one absence, which seems highly unlikely. Whedon finally settled on January 19 (the original airdate) as Buffy's birthday.

Best Line/Moment: "Right now, a man in Beijing is transferring money to a Swiss bank account for a contract on his mother's life…good for him." (Moloch)

Analysis: A clever premise that probably works better for high-traffic internet users than for "regular people." Anonymous internet users substituting online relations for human contact is a problem that not only still exists, but has gotten worse. Cybersex, chat rooms, forums -- all time spent away from actual relationships. However, the actual events of the episode aren't that interesting and it falters quite a bit when Willow has to give her empowered woman speech. B-


Episode 1.09 - "The Puppet Show"
W: Dean Batali, Rob Des Hotel
D: Ellen S. Pressman
Original Airdate: May 5, 1997

Synopsis: Buffy, Willow and Xander are conscripted into the school talentless show. When kids turn up with missing hearts and minds, the gang suspects Morgan and his dummy, Sid. Morgan is reluctant to talk because "Sid" is very protective, but does that make him a killer? Or maybe it's the creepy new principal ("Deep Space Nine's" Armin Shimmerman)? When Buffy is attacked by Sid the Dummy, that narrows things down quite a bit. Buffy and Sid duke it out until they realize they're actually on the same side. Sid has been cursed into the body of a dummy by a demon he's hunting. Unfortunately for the demon, he took a cancerous brain and needs a new one -- one from a really smart person…like a librarian. Thankfully, Buffy and crew arrive on the scene to save the Watcher before he loses his head.

Introduces: Principal Snyder, Buffy's school foil who blames cheerleader immolation on liberalism. I think he used to post in the 411Forums actually.

Best Line/Moment: Buffy, Xander and Willow's "skit" -- a classic moment in the series, which only aired once but is now available on DVD.

Analysis: Horror will always get mileage out of dolls. Expressionless bastards. Sid's in-class leer at Buffy is really creepy -- a nice bit of direction by Pressman. Plus, the twist that Sid is actually a good guy is quite clever. The whodunnit aspect isn't really fair, though. Where was that guy throughout the episode? B+


Episode 1.10 - "Nightmares"
W: David Greenwalt
D: Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: May 12, 1997

Synopsis: Students' nightmares start coming true around the same time Buffy sees a weird little boy hanging around campus. For Wendell, it's spiders coming to get him. Buffy not only didn't hear about a test, but it seems she only has time to put her name down before class is out. Xander winds up naked in class and is confronted by an evil clown. Willow is forced to sing in front of tough crowd. Giles can't read. Cordelia is a chess team member with bad hair. When a girl is attacked by a club-armed demon, things start to get out of hand. It turns out that she is the second victim. The first was a young boy, attacked after a Kiddie League game -- the same boy Buffy's been seeing. Buffy's father shows up and tells her that she is the reason her parents broke up. Buffy seeks solace in talking to Billy, who Giles theorizes is an astral projection. He talks about losing a baseball game for his team, for which his coach blamed him. When Buffy finally defeats "the ugly man", Billy awakens from his coma. Bad news for his coach, who it turns out took out his aggressions on poor Billy. It seems there are human monsters in Sunnydale as well as demons.

Introduces: Buffy's father, Hank, who will be Missing-in-Action for the rest of the series (with a few exceptions).

Best Line/Moment: Buffy's heart-wrenching reaction to her father's nightmarish barbs.

Interesting Note: When Xander wonders if Billy has brought their dreams to life, Giles says that that would be like a musical comedy version of what's happening. Of course, in Season 6, that's exactly what would happen.

Analysis: While the idea of nightmares come to life is fertile ground for a horror show, there's too much packed in to too little time. Xander's evil clown is so ham-handedly dealt with, it's obvious that it's just filler. The ending about teams and sportsmanship is also a little too "After School Special." B-


Episode 1.11 - "Out of Mind, Out of Sight"
W: Ashley Gable, Thomas Swyden
D: Reza Badiyi
Original Airdate: May 19, 1997

Synopsis: Buffy is feeling left out again, first by Cordelia, but that's natural. She also feels left out by Xander and Willow. She, apparently, isn't the only one. Someone -- an invisible someone -- is attacking the popular students. When Willow investigates the missing persons list she finds the name Marcie Ross ("Carnivale's" Clea Duvall). It seems that Marcie has turned invisible because no one paid attention to her -- not even her teachers. Unfortunately, she's not only invisible, but quite insane. She locks Xander, Giles and Willow in the basement and turns on the gas. Meanwhile, Buffy gives chase and tries to save Cordelia the May Queen from being on the receiving end of horrible revenge. Fortunately, Angel is in the neighborhood and saves the gang from suffocation. Buffy is able to capture Marcie and turn her over to the CIA…who plans on turning her into an assassin.

Historic Moment: Cordy is semi-accepted into the group when she has nowhere else to turn. Also, she exhibits something of a soul -- for a while.

Best Line/Moment: (tie) 1. Cordelia's explanation of the morality of "Merchant of Venice." 2. Willow's spastic laughing at the inside joke -- "Be my deputy."

Interesting Note: The text in Marcie's book at the very end of the episode is the lyrics to the Beatles' "Happiness is a Warm Gun" repeated over and over with the words "Happiness is a Warm Gun" changed to "Joy is a Hot Revolver."

Analysis: Bland episode that was gone from my memory as soon as the credits rolled. The only redeeming moments are Cordelia's soul-bearing to Buffy and the explanation of how Marcie became invisible. C


Episode 1.12 - "Prophecy Girl"
W: Joss Whedon
D: Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: June 2, 1997

Synopsis: Thanks to Angel's recovery of the Codex in "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", Giles translates a prophecy that says the Master will rise and Buffy will die! Miss Calendar has a catalogue of apocalyptic events that have been occurring over the past few days. Meanwhile, Xander decides to ask Buffy to the dance -- and she rejects him, saying she just thinks of him as a friend. Well, she does have experience with stabbing men in the heart. When he can't have her, he turns to Willow, who also turns him down because she's not going to be his backup. Good for her. When Buffy learns about the prophecy, she decides to simply quit being the slayer. However, when Willow finds a bunch of dead kids, Buffy realizes that she can't simply quit. She goes underneath the school to confront the Master, who is more powerful than any other vampire she's faced. Just as the prophecy says, the Master kills her and escapes his prison. Things look bleak until Xander and Angel revive Buffy with CPR just in time to give the Master a righteous asskicking.

Best Line/Moment: (tie) 1. Xander references Locutus of Borg. 2. "You have fruit punch mouth." (Buffy, to the Master)

Analysis: Very satisfying conclusion to the first season's mythology of "The Master" as well as Xander's pining for Buffy. Although it can't hold a candle to later finales, "Prophecy Girl" wraps up everything and yet adheres to the old axiom "always leave them wanting more." The love quadrangle that Whedon has created is brilliant. We want Buffy and Angel to be able to get together because they are star-crossed lovers. We want underdog Xander to win over Buffy because he's so likeable. We want Willow to end up with Xander because they seem to belong together. Obviously, we can't have all of these things. They contradict one another. So, we get…nothing. The only sour note is the cheesy moment where the theme music fires up while Buffy, Angel and Xander walk down the street like they're going to face the Jets. A

The 411: Because it was a mid-season replacement, there wasn't much chance of the show being picked up. As a result, Whedon couldn't plan too far ahead, so these episodes aren't really representative of what Buffy would later offer in terms of mythology. Instead, we get episodes that are lighter and more innocent than the show would become. Still, it far outshines anything the WB had done to that point (and arguably since). A solid opening to what would become a far greater show.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]